Nothing Left To Prove
by JennaRiley
Summary: Sonny's daughter and Jason's wife, Kellie Corinthos faces a medical crisis as Garrett teams up with Shiloh to set up his operations in Port Charles and sets his sights on Kellie's daughter. Chapter 79 update: Lorenzo and Kellie discuss Alexis and Garrett. Sonny realizes what Kellie asked Jason. Jake brings his painting for the nursery over.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **_With no leads on Garrett, Dante continued doing under cover work with the WSB on other cases. Like on the show, he lost contact going after Raj. Sonny did go after Dante and is currently looking for him. Dawn of Day is going on. Although, Sam While Carly never went to Ferncliff in this universe, Ryan still escaped, taking over Kevin's life and killing people. This is picking up a few weeks after "Strong As It's Ever Been" around the time Kevin and Ava went to Niagara Falls with Carly in the trunk. Carly is still pregnant. _

_If you have never read one of my stories before, you should know this is the ninth story featuring my O.C., Kellie Corinthos. I'd recommend reading from the beginning if you want her full back story. My profile lists which stories and they order they should be read in. _

**One month after "Strong As It's Ever Been."**

**_The Tunnels On Spoon Island_**

Garrett lay roughed up in the tunnels. Despite Valentine's best efforts, Garret had refused to give up any information.

Garrett was disturbed by the sound of movement in the tunnels. One of Valentine's servants came down stairs.

Garrett was shocked when he heard the sound of keys unlocking his cell.

"Hurry up," the servant said, motioning to Garrett to leave.

"Why should I trust you?" Garrett asked.

"I bring greetings from an old friend," the servant said, "Every day is a new dawn."

Garrett smiled and slowly got up, wincing.

They made their way though the tunnels.

"What do we have here?" Valentine's voice cut through the air as they exited the tunnels, "You are most definitely fired."

"I told you I'd get out," Garrett said.

Valentine motioned for his men to come, but no one came.

Garrett laughed as Valentine looked around confused.

Valentine never saw what hit him upside the head and he crumpled to the ground.

Shiloh stepped out of the shadows tossing a pipe away, "It's good to see you."

"It took you long enough," Garrett said.

"Valentine was not high on my list of possible suspects for kidnapping you," Shiloh said as they made their way towards the beach and a boat.

"I'm surprised you went for a violent means of subduing Mr. Cassadine," Garrett said, "with all your peace and love."

"That peace and love helps keep your enterprise going," Shiloh said.

"It works both ways," Garrett said, "Have you made any progress since I've been indisposed."

"i'd say Dawn of Day is firmly established in Port Charles," Garrett said, "Kristina Corinthos Davis is becoming a valuable asset and the D.A. has been attending classes."

"Isn't that something," Garrett said.

"Let's get moving," Shiloh said, "I think it's time we moved your part of things into operation here."

"First things first," Garrett said, "I have some scores to settle."

"And your operations will settle them quite nicely," Shiloh said.

"We're changing the plan," Garrett said, "The Cassadine brat will go to the highest bidder. As for Alyssa I have other plans for her."

**Back on the mainland, the next day. **

Jason dropped Jake off at school, after taking him to breakfast, and then headed home.

He hoped he'd catch Kellie off guard. She had seemed to no longer be exhausted or so she said. But then she'd been sick for a week earlier in the month. Knowing how much Kellie disliked hospitals, he wouldn't put it past Kellie to try to hide any symptoms, hoping it would go away. With his recent surgery to restore his eyesight when he went blind, it would have been easy for her to slip that past him. But Jamie and Jared had also expressed concern that their mom didn't seem quite right.

Jason quietly unlocked the door and opened it. He silently made his way upstairs and found the master bathroom door shut. He opened the door to find Kellie throwing up into the toilet.

At first Kellie didn't even realize Jason was in the room until he knelt next to her, moving her hair back from her face.

"Jason," Kellie said, "I thought you had to meet with Max after you dropped Jake off."

"There was no meeting," Jason said, "I only told you."

"You knew I was trying to pretend I'm not sick," Kellie said.

"Even Jamie and Jared know something's wrong," Jason said, "They're worried too. How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of months," Kellie said, reluctantly,

"So the exhaustion started around Christmas or New Year's," Jason said, "and the throwing up?"

"A couple of weeks now," Kellie said, "but I was nauseated before that, but I wasn't throwing up."

"It's getting worse," Jason said, "Is it just the nausea and fatigue? Is there anything else?"

Kellie didn't answer and bit her lip.

"What else?" Jason asked.

"I don't know if it's an actual symptom or my body reacting to stress again," Kellie said, "I haven't had my period since before Christmas. My period hasn't been consistent the last few years while I taking care of Tyler. But I've never missed one for this long, except when I was pregnant."

"Weren't you always really sick when you were pregnant?" Jason asked.

"Like now," Kellie said, "Yes, with all my pregnancies. I know how my symptoms sound, but I can't get pregnant. If my tubes weren't tied right, I would have found out with Tyler years ago."

"Trying to pretend you're not sick isn't the answer," Jason said as Kellie went to throw up again.

When Kellie was finished, Jason helped her to her feet.

"I"m scared, Jason," Kellie said, holding Jason's arms to stay steady, "Of putting my kids through something like what happened with Tyler again. Or that I might not be there for them either."

"That's why you need to see a doctor," Jason said, wrapping his arms around Kellie as she leaned her head against his chest, "And figure out if it's you just need medication or surgery to fix it or fight with everything you have if it's not so simple."

Jason and Kellie were just about to leave the house when Johnny opened the door and let Valentine Cassadine in.

"I know you're in a hurry," Johnny said, but you might want to hear what Mr. Cassadine has to say."

"What do you want, Valentine?" Kellie asked.

"I wanted to extend you the courtesy of letting you know, some of my men have spotted Garrett in the area," Valentine said, "Since he took Charlotte, I made it a point to try to keep tabs on his whereabouts or try to find him."

"Did you let the PCPD know?" Kellie asked, "Where was he seen?"

"I hadn't informed the PCPD…yet," Valentine said, "Out in the harbor somewhere."

"That's a lot of ground," Jason said, "What part of the harbor?"

"Why wouldn't you or your men have informed the cops first?" Kellie asked.

"That's all the information I have," Valentine said, "I thought you should know so you can take whatever precautions you need."

Valentine turned to leave giving Kellie and Jason a glimpse of the bump on this head where Shiloh had hit the night before.

The next thing Valentine knew, Kellie had him shoved up against the door.

"You didn't call the cops because you were the one that took him from the airport," Kellie said, "And he escaped."

Valentine squirmed, but didn't answer.

"Now because you couldn't let the cops and NCIS do their job," Kellie said, "That nut job is still out there free to terrorize my family."

"Your family wasn't the only victim in this," Valentine said.

"The next time you think about taking matters into your own hands," Kellie said, "Don't."

"I suggest you let me go," Valentine said, "Before I have to consider pressing assault charges."

"Except then you'd have to explain the fact that you helped a fugitive escape," Kellie said, "Because that is exactly what you did. I'd be more than happy to tell the cops that detail."

"Are you going to rein your wife in?" Valentine asked Jason.

"No," Jason said.

"If you ever interfere where Garrett or anyone coming after my family is concerned again," Kellie said, "I will make it my personal mission to find where you hide all your bodies and make sure everyone knows about them. You won't ever see it coming and you won't even be sure it was me."

Kellie eased up on Valentine.

"I'll save you the trouble," Valentine said, "There are no bodies to find."

"With men like you," Kellie said, stepping back, off balance, "There's always a few lurking around."

Before Valentine could responded, Kellie fainted. Jason caught her before she hit the ground and laid her on the floor.

"Johnny, show Mr. Cassadine out," Jason said, tending to Kellie.

"For what it's worth," Valentine said, "I do sincerely hope, she's okay."

Johnny yanked Valentine out the door before anything else could be said.


	2. Chapter 2

**An unknown location**

"Are you sure this is how you want to do this?" Shiloh asked Garrett, "I'm sure Kristina would more than happily bring Alyssa to Dawn of Day. Where Alyssa ends up from there is up to you."

"You know I prefer to do my own work when it comes to these matters," Garrett said, "Besides I want to keep Mrs. Corinthos-Morgan on her toes."

"Just don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself," Shiloh said, "We need your merchandise to keep Dawn of Day's largest donors happy."

"I'll handle my business," Garrett said, "You stick to yours."

"Just remember you handling things yourself landed you in the tunnels of Spoon Island," Shiloh said.

"You'd do well to remember a lot of your money comes from me," Garrett said, "In exchange for running merchandise through Dawn of Day locations."

"Which won't exist if your charade exposes us all," Shiloh said, "I'm just saying be careful. We've worked too hard to lose it all now. Not when everything we want is so close."

**General Hospital**

Kellie regained consciousness before Jason and Johnny took her to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Jason called Monica to let her know he was bringing Kellie in.

"I could walk, Jason," Kellie said, as Jason carried her into the waiting room.

"You fainted," Jason said as Monica approached them.

"We need to get an iv in her," Monica said, assessing Kellie, "She's definitely dehydrated. Have you been able to keep anything down?"

"No," Kellie said, "Not since yesterday."

"This way," Monica said, leading Jason and Kellie to a room, "We'll see about getting you some anti-nausea medication until we get some test results."

Jason laid Kellie on the hospital bed as Elizabeth went to work setting up the iv.

"I looked up your medical records," Monica said, "It doesn't look like you transferred your records from California here yet. I've already made arrangements to get your records sent here. When was your last physical or exam?"

"Two…three…years ago, maybe" Kellie said,

"You didn't get checked out when you were missing periods in California?" Jason asked,

"Sometimes I miss a period when I'm stressed," Kellie said, "That wasn't out of the ordinary for me. My regular doctor had moved and I just didn't find new one when Tyler got sick again."

Monica looked like she wanted to lecture Kellie.

"Why don't we just focus on what we can do for Kellie right now?" Elizabeth said, pulling a chart up on the computer, "What symptoms are you having?"

"Nausea, exhaustion," Kellie said.

"And missed periods," Jason said.

"I told you that's probably stress and not," Kellie said.

"We need to note it anyway," Liz said, "How many periods have you missed?"

"Two," Kellie said, "My last one was before Christmas."

"Has it occurred to you that you could be pregnant?" Monica asked.

"My tubes were tied when Alyssa was born," Kellie said, "If didn't know better, I'd wonder the same thing."

"So pregnancy is pretty much off the table," Monica said, "We'll take some blood samples and send them to the lab for testing. I'm also going to schedule you for an ultrasound. Then we'll go from there. I'm also going to ask Dr. Nero to look at your case since you've been missing periods whether they're related to the other symptoms or not. Does that sound like a plan?"

"Okay," Kellie said, "Thank you."

Monica left the room

"I'm going to get something to drink," Jason said, "Do you want anything?"

Kellie shook her head. Jason left the room.

"You know he's going to at least bring you water or something," Liz said, taking Kellie's blood.

"I can't even keep that down," Kellie said, "What the hell was I thinking, Liz? I know better than anyone the importance of keeping up on doctor's appointments."

"Don't beat yourself up," Liz said. "Do what you need to do now to take care of yourself."

Liz left the room and Kellie made a phone call.

"Garrett's been spotted in Port Charles," Kellie said when Director Vance of NCIS answered.

"He finally turned up," Leon said, "Has he been anywhere near your family?"

"Not yet," Kellie said.

"What else can you tell me?" Leon asked.

"Not much," Kellie said, "I only know because Valentine Cassadine did me the courtesy of informing me. "

"What's Cassadine's involvement in this?" Leon asked.

"I'm pretty sure he's the one who took Garrett from the airport," Kellie said, "in retaliation for trying to kidnap Charlotte in New York last year."

"He took matters into his own hands," Leon said, "And obviously lost control of him. Do you have evidence of Cassadine's involvement?"

"Nothing a court could use," Kellie said, "It's not like Cassadine was going to outright confess either."

"I'll get my agents looking into Garrett's activities," Leon said, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Have you had any luck getting clearance to see the files on Hank Archer a.k.a. Shiloh?" Kellie asked.

"No," Leon said, "They are keeping those filed closed even from me. I need more than doing a background check for a friend to access them."

"What did this guy do?" Kellie asked.

"I'd like to know the answer to that too?" Leon said, "Be assured his little new dawn and love routine is legitimate. I'll keep you posted."

"If I hear anything else, I'll let you know," Kellie said. She hung up and then realized she had missed a call from Lorenzo. She called him back.

"I'm headed to Port Charles," Lorenzo said when he answered, "And I better not hear anything about you leaving the hospital."

"Uncle Lo," Kellie started to say.

"Johnny already called to fill me in about Garrett," Lorenzo said, "And how sick you've been. When I get there, we'll reassess your security situation. In the meantime, you take care of yourself. We'll worry about Garrett."

Outside the room, Jason pulled Monica aside.

"Is there anything else we should know about Kellie's illness," Monica asked, "Any other symptoms?"

"I think we covered it," Jason said, "Maybe I'm reaching for straws, but is there any possibility birth control procedures like the one Kellie had could fail."

"It's been known to happen," Monica said, "But it is incredibly rare with that type of procedure. If her procedure were to have failed, it would have failed when Tyler was still alive. As much as I wish I could tell you that pregnancy could be the reason Kellie's so sick, I can't get your hopes up like that. The reality is whatever is making Kellie sick is probably a lot more serious than any of us would like."


	3. Chapter 3

Jason came back into Kellie's room with a bottle of water. Before he could try to convince Kellie to try to drink it, Kim stopped by the room.

"How many times when we were both in California did I ask you if you were taking care of yourself and keeping up on your regular doctors appointments," Kim asked. "While Tyler was sick."

"Life got busy," Kellie said, unconvincingly.

"That's no excuse," Kim said, "When I figure this out and get you all fixed up, you owe me drinks."

"Why didn't you just go to Kim when you're regular doctor moved," Jason asked, "Since you already knew her."

Kellie buried her head in her hands, "Can we please just say lesson learned and move on?"

"I also know how much you hate hospitals and doctors," Kim said, who turned to look at Jason, "Promise me you won't let her get away with it when she tries this again."

"I won't," Jason said.

"Since that's settled," Kim said, "Monica put a rush on the blood work. I'm trying to put a rush on the ultrasound, but one of the machines went down. It will probably be awhile. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable."

"We'll be here," Jason said.

"Kim, how's Oscar?" Kellie asked.

"He's doing everything he can while he can," Kim said, "I just wish…."

"Fix or no fix," Kellie said, "We'll grab a drink one of these days."

"I'm going to see if your records from California showed up yet," Kim said, turning to leave, "By the way, Epiphany isn't here to yell at healthy people for sitting in hospital beds."

After Kim left, Kellie moved to let Jason sit next to her on the bed.

Kellie leaned against Jason's chest.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," Kellie said.

"It's not your fault you're sick," Jason said, "The important thing is getting you healthy again."

"Uncle Lo's on his way here," Kellie said, "Johnny already called and told him everything. Tattletale."

"I know you want to be out tracking Garrett down," Jason said, "I get it. But your job is to figure this out. Let me, Lorenzo, Johnny, and Francis figure out the security and keeping the kids safe."

"The only thing I could do was call NCIS," Kellie said, "I should call the PCPD."

"I made that call while I was out in the hallway," Jason said.

WIth the IV and anti-nausea, Kellie started to feel better. They were still waiting hours later when Jason ran into Carly in the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" Carly asked, "Is everything okay? Nothing went wrong with the surgery to restore your eyesight did it?"

"No," Jason said, "Kellie hasn't been feeling well. They're running tests now."

"Seriously, Jason, I can't take it anymore," Carly said, excitedly, "Why are you holding out on me? Kellie's been exhausted and throwing up for weeks. I'm sure the doctors are going to tell you what the home pregnancy test I'm sure she took told you. That our kids will be born around the same time and be best friends."

"Carly, no, Kellie, she can't…" Jason said, "I asked Monica if it was possible for Kellie's birth control method to have failed. Monica said most likely not."

"Unless she missed a dose," Carly said, "Or it expired."

"Kellie had surgery to….." Jason said.

"Oh…" Carly said, "Do the doctors have any idea why Kellie's sick then?"

"They're not saying," Jason said, "But I think Monica's worried."

"Jason, I'm sorry," Carly said, hugging him, "I really thought Kellie might be pregnant too. How's Kellie handling this?"

"She's trying to pretend she's not freaked out," Jason said, "She was trying to hide her symptoms from me and everyone, hoping she would get better. And Garrett was spotted this morning."

"You're kidding me," Carly said, "He dropped off the face of the earth for months and decides to show his face now."

"We think Valentine had been holding him and he escaped," Jason said, "Valentine was the one who told us Garrett was seen. With Kellie and I here, Lorenzo's on his way to look at the security situation."

Carly looked around, wanting to stay and talk to Jason, "I have to get to my appointment. Give Kellie my best and I'll stop by before I leave if you guys are still here."

"Right now it looks we'll be here," Jason said.

Carly hugged Jason again, "I still can't help but hope for both your sakes that somehow you and Kellie managed to make a baby."

"Was Carly outside?" Kellie asked.

"She has a check-up," Jason said, "She apparently has been waiting on pins and needles for us to tell her you're pregnant."

"What? Why?" Kellie said.

"Carly picked up on your nausea and exhaustion and assumed," Jason said.

"I wish her assumptions could be right," Kellie said.

"Until we found out for sure, she's still hoping the two of you will end up giving birth around the same time," Jason said.

"She already planned on play dates, didn't she?" Kellie said.

Jason nodded as Kellie teared up. Jason wrapped his arms around her, both of them leaning on each other as they wondered what Kellie's future would hold.

In the hours that followed, Franco was brought in claiming to be stabbed by Ryan Chamberlain and Laura showed up at the hospital, confirming Ryan had been impersonating Kevin.

Lorenzo had gone to Jared, Jamie, and Alyssa's school to find the school in lockdown. A threat had come in during the afternoon recess, causing panic. The police were searching the school and staff were trying to get an accurate headcount on the kids.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason and Kellie were waiting as the latest events put GH's staff further behind.

Kellie had dozed off against Jason in the meantime. She woke up when Jason's phone rang.

"Hey Michael," Jason said answering and putting the phone on speaker.

"So have you heard from Mom?" Michael asked.

"I saw her an hour ago maybe," Jason said, "She stopped by to see Kellie before leaving GH after her doctor's appointment."

"I was supposed to meet Mom after her appointment at the MetroCourt," Michael said, "She never showed up. No one at the MetroCourt has seen her. She's not answering her phone. And why is my sister in the hospital?"

"They're running tests to figure out why she's been sick," Jason said, "I'll look to see if Carly is still here and check if her car is in the parking garage."

"I'll head over to GH," Michael said, hanging up.

"Are you okay if," Jason started.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kellie said, "Go find Carly. Make sure she's okay."

In the parking garage, Jason found Carly's car still there and her cell phone on the ground. He called Spinelli to check the video footage, confirming Carly had been in the garage at the same time as Ryan.

Michael pulled into the parking garage and got out of the car.

"I see Mom's car is here," Michael said.

"Her phone was on the floor," Jason said, "Spinelli said she and Ryan Chamberlain were in the garage at the same time."

"Do you think Ryan could have taken her?" Michael said.

"I'd say it looks that way," Jason said.

"What do we do?" Michael said as they walked back in the building.

"Let's check GH one more time," Jason said, "See if we can't get an idea where Ryan was headed. Hopefully Kellie will be done with her tests."

"I can stay with Kellie if you need to go after Mom," Michael said, "I'll check the hospital while you let Kellie know what's going on."

Jason walked in to Kellie's room.

"Any idea when they'll take you in for the ultrasound," Jason asked.

Kellie shook her head, "Did you find Carly?"

"No," Jason said, "We think Ryan Chamberlain might have her."

"You're going after her right?" Kellie asked.

"I have to," Jason said, "I hate leaving you here."

"I'll be fine," Kellie said, "Carly and my soon to be brother or sister are in the hands of a serial killer. I'm just waiting to have tests run."

"No sign of her," Michael said, walking into the room.

"Jason, you need to go," Kellie said, "I'd offer to go with you."

"You're not in any condition to," Jason said.

"It certainly wouldn't stop my sister from trying," Michael said.

"I do not need my little brother baby-sitting me," Kellie said.

"How many times have you disappeared from hospitals?" Michael teased.

"Sick or not sick," Kellie said, "I can still…"

"Throw tables to scare me," Michael said, "I don't doubt it. Don't think of it as baby-sitting think of it as catching up with your brother you haven't seen for weeks."

"You should get going," Kellie said to Jason, "If Chamberlain has Carly, you don't have time to waste."

"Call me when you get any kind of answers," Jason said, kissing Kellie before he left.

**The elementary school**

Earlier at the school when an anonymous threat was called in, in the middle of the chaos of trying to bring the students inside from recess, Alyssa had wandered toward the backside of the playground.

She looked at the fence to see Garrett standing there. Alyssa promptly marched over to him and attempted to slap him as best she could.

"That's for being a lying snake," Alyssa said.

"Well, this certainly was much easier than I thought," Garrett said, picking Alyssa up and putting his hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream.


	5. Chapter 5

While the teachers were trying to get the kids inside, Francis and the other guards ignored the agreement to stay on the perimeter of the school grounds. They hopped the fence, making sure they had eyes on on all the kids. Rick and Jackson radioed in that they had eyes on the boys. Francis had seen Alyssa duck around the backside of the playground and out of sight.

He ran to go get Alyssa, but didn't find her by the playground. He heard rustling on the other side of the fence and went to check it out.

He caught a glimpse of Garrett's backside and Alyssa being carried away.

"Stop right there," Francis said, drawing his weapon.

Before Francis could react any further, Garrett drew his weapon and fired, while maintaining a hold of Alyssa with the other hand.

The bullet hit Francis in the gut. Alyssa took advantage of the opportunity to scream.

Francis fell to the ground as Garrett continued to take off with Alyssa.

Francis managed to radio Jackson his location and that Garrett had Alyssa before passing out.

Jackson found Francis and was calling for an ambulance.

Lorenzo who had been across the street trying to get an update from the cops and school officials when the ambulances showed up.

He saw Rick talking with one of the cops. He tried to convince the cop to let him through the barricade.

"I can't let you through," the officer said.

"Why is my niece's guard for her children talking to your other officers?" Lorenzo asked as Rick went with the paramedics, including Sage, across the courtyard.

"I don't know," the officer said, "You'll just have to wait."

"Is there someone from the school I can talk to?" Lorenzo replied, "I just want to know if my nephews and niece are accounted for."

"I'll take it from here," Principal Schultz said.

"What is going on?" Lorenzo asked.

"We got a tip about a potential gunman on the premises during recess," Principal Schultz said, "We put the school on lockdown and were trying to get all the kids inside. We can account for all the kids except Alyssa."

"I can only account for two of the three guards," Lorenzo said.

"Some of the students saw Alyssa head to the back side of the playground," Principal Schultz said when the paramedics came rushing back with Francis on the stretcher. Jackson and Rick were running behind.

"Oh my god," Lorenzo said as Sage rushed by with the gurney.

"Sage what happened?" Lorenzo said.

"You'll have to ask Jackson and Rick," Sage said, "We have to get Francis to the hospital now."

"Garrett took Alyssa," Jackson said to Lorenzo as they approached him.

**General Hospital **

Monica was looking over Kellie's initial labs when Kim entered her office.

"You wanted to see me," Kim said.

"We've got some of Kellie's bloodwork back," Monica said, handing Kim the results. Kim looked them over.

"Her hcg hormones are elevated," Kim said, flipping to another page, "Her thyroid screening tests came back normal. Did her records from California come in yet?"

"No," Monica said, "We're still waiting on those."

"Her tubes are tied making pregnancy impossible and her thyroid function is normal," Kim said, "Then we may be looking at…."

"Ovarian Cancer," Monica said, grimly.

"She's young for it," Kim said, "But it will mimic pregnancy symptoms like she described. How soon can we get that ultrasound to confirm."

"Not soon enough," Monica said, "We have no idea when we can get her in for it. It's been a madhouse today. "

"Do you want to come tell Kellie and Jason with me?" Kim asked.

Monica took a deep breath, "Let's go."

Monica and Kim made their way to Kellie's hospital room.

Monica was surprised when they entered the room and found Michael with Kellie instead of Jason.

"Did Jason go to the cafeteria and vending machines?" Monica asked.

"No, he's looking for Carly," Kellie said.

"We think Ryan Chamberlain took her," Michael said.

"Of course," Monica muttered under her breath.

"What's going on?" Kellie asked.

"We got some of your blood work back," Kim said, "Your hcg hormones are elevated. That's the hormone that would usually be elevated when a woman is pregnant."

"That's good news then," Michael started to say when he saw Kellie shaking her head.

"After Alyssa was born, Tyler and I decided we didn't want any more kids," Kellie said, "Since I'd already had my birth control medications messed with once by Carlos years ago, I opted to…"

"If you can't get pregnant…." Michael said.

"We look for other causes for Kellie's illness and the elevated hcg hormone," Monica said, "We looked at an issue with her thyroid, but all those tests came back normal."

"Which leaves us with one other alternative," Kim said, "But we'll need the ultrasound to confirm it."

"no…." Kellie said, understanding starting to dawn on her.

"I'm sorry, but we have to consider Ovarian Cancer," Kim said.

"How soon can we get Kellie an ultrasound?" Michael said.

"We've been trying to get a rush on Kellie's," Monica said, "But it's not doing any good."

"We'll do everything we can," Kim said, "Including getting you started on a treatment plan as soon as possible. Given that this type of cancer is aggressive and usually in the advanced stages when it's diagnosis, time is crucial."

"I understand," Kellie said, stunned and fighting tears.

"You're going to fight this," Michael said, "We'll get whatever specialists you need."

"How am I supposed to put my kids through this again?" Kellie said, her tears falling, "They already lost their father, Michael, and now…"

Monica and Kim silently moved out of the room, giving Kellie time and space to process.

"It's good thing you don't know the meaning of the phrase, "Don't fight,"" Michael said.

"Michael," Kellie said, "That particular cancer has really bad odds."

"You've fought worse odds," Michael said, "You're going to beat this. Now do you want to call Jason?"

"Let's let him focus on finding Carly," Kellie said, "And wait until I have the ultrasound to call him."

"Are you sure?" Michael asked.

Kellie nodded as her phone rang. She answered, seeing as it was Lorenzo.

"Are you sitting down?" Lorenzo asked, "And is any one with you?"

"Why?" Kellie asked, "And Michael is with me."

"What about Jason?" Lorenzo asked.

"Trying to find Carly who Ryan Chamberlain probably kidnapped," Kellie replied, "Since you were headed to the school to check on the kids, I assume something is wrong."

"There's no easy way to say this," Lorenzo said, "But Garrett has Alyssa."


	6. Chapter 6

"Start talking," Kellie said, as she used her free hand to unhook the IV she was attached to.

"Shouldn't you check with the doctor's before you do that?" Michael asked.

"If I tell you to stay in the hospital," Lorenzo said, "and that I'll keep you posted, will you…"

"My daughter has been kidnapped by a sex trafficker who isn't above sampling the merchandise," Kellie said, "Hell no. How did Garrett get his hands on my daughter?"

"He phoned in a fake threat to the school during recess," Lorenzo said, "causing chaos as they went to get the kids inside. Francis was shot trying to stop him."

"Will Francis make it?" Kellie asked.

"He's on his way to GH now," Lorenzo said, "We don't know. He lost quite a bit of blood."

"I'll head to the police station, call NCIS, " Kellie said, "And ask Spinelli to see what he can find. Will you utilize our resources at the foundation?"

"Already done," Lorenzo said, "I'll meet you at the station."

"How are Jared and Jamie?" Kellie asked.

"Scared for Alyssa," Lorenzo said, "Charles is picking them up. Is Jason coming to the station with you?"

"No," Kellie said, "He's out looking for Carly and Ryan Chamberlain."

"Carly and Ryan Chamberlain?" Lorenzo asked.

"Carly's missing and her last known location was in the garage at General Hospital with Ryan Chamberlain," Kellie said as Monica came in the room hearing the commotion of Kellie getting ready to leave.

"Could this day get any…." Lorenzo started to say, "Never mind I don't want to tempt fate."

"I'm checking myself out," Kellie said, "I'll let you know when I'm headed to the station."

Kellie hung up the phone.

"I'd advise against leaving until you can have that ultrasound," Monica said.

"My daughter's been kidnapped," Kellie said, "Unless you give me an exact time I can have that ultrasound, I'm leaving. You can have some one call me to schedule an appointment."

"We need to do this as soon as we can," Monica said, "Ovarian Cancer isn't something to wait around to treat."

"We both know it's likely late stage at this point," Kellie said, "Right now I can't do anything about it. But I can go try to keep my daughter from becoming a sexual assault victim."

"Can you stop her?" Monica asked Michael.

"No," Michael said, "You can't tell me if it wasn't one of your kids that you wouldn't do the same thing."

"Point taken," Monica said, "You need to stay hydrated and before you go, let me put in a refill for the anti-nausea medication."

"Thank you," Kellie said as Monica left.

"You can change your mind," Michael said.

"Would you?" Kellie asked.

"No," Michael said, "If my son was out there, I do everything I could to find him."

While Kellie waited for the anti-nausea prescription to be filled, she called Jason, The phone went to voice mail. So she left a message.

As Jason was driving with Laura to Niagara Falls to find Carly, Ryan, and Ava, he realized he'd missed Kellie's call. He listened to the voice mail.

"Jason, Garrett kidnapped Alyssa," Jason heard Kellie's voice say, "I told Monica to have the hospital call me with an appointment for the ultrasound. I can't sit around indefinitely with Alyssa missing. I'm meeting Uncle Lo at the police station. We'll talk when you and Carly get home."

Jason could hear Kellie's voice trying not crack.

"Any word on Kellie?" Laura asked.

"No," Jason said, "Alyssa was kidnapped and Kellie checked herself out of the hospital to go the station."

"I want to say I can't believe Valentine had Garrett," Laura said, "but sadly, I can't say I'm surprised looking back. Now your family is paying the price for that. Do you want to go back?"

"Want to yes," Jason said, "Kellie would also read me the riot act."

"She would tell you she could handle herself," Laura said, "That's hard for you isn't it. That she doesn't seem to want or ask for your help."

"Sometimes," Jason said, "I know Kellie's capable. I just don't want her to feel like she has to handle it all herself. She's strong and has the ability to make doing whatever she has to do or endure seem like no big deal. But what most people don't realize is how much things affect her even when she tries not to admit it to herself."

"So you just show up even when she tells you not to," Laura said, "I'm sure she appreciates that more you know."

"Except I'm not there for her right now," Jason said, "But Carly is…."

"Is Kellie really handling this whole situation with her daughter by herself?" Laura asked.

"No," Jason said, "Her uncle is in town, she has her guards. Michael was with her when I left."

"She's not really alone," Laura said.

"No, she's not," Jason said.

"What did Kellie tell you about going after Carly?" Laura asked.

"To go after her," Jason said, "The message she just left assumes I'm bringing Carly back."

"I think your wife has this figured out," Laura said, "And maybe you might want to trust her judgment here. I know it's hard with Kellie not being well, but it seems to me that."

"I can find Carly," Jason said, "Because I'll be able to do whatever it is I need to do for Kellie later. But Carly needs help now."

**General Hospital Parking Garage**

By the time Kellie got her prescription and she, Michael, and Johnny made it to the garage, Lorenzo was waiting for them.

"I thought you were going to the station," Kellie said.

"I figured I could head over to the station with you," Lorenzo said, "Are you sure you want to?"

"I feel a lot better," Kellie said, "As long I stay hydrated and take the anti-nausea, I should be okay."

"Do the doctors have any ideas?" Lorenzo asked.

Kellie didn't answer and opened the back door to the car, "Let's go."

She climbed in and shut the door.

Lorenzo looked at Michael. Michael looked down as if to say it wasn't good.

"I should head back to work if you've got it from here," Michael said.

"I've got it," Lorenzo said.

Kellie rolled down the window, "Are you two done discussing whatever it is you were discussing?"

"Keep me posted on everything," Michael said, "If you need anything, let me know."

"Thanks, Michael," Kellie said.

Once Lorenzo got in the backseat, he motioned to Johnny to shut the car off.

"What are you doing?" Kellie asked.

'You didn't answer me when I asked if the Doctors had any idea about why you've been sick," Lorenzo said, "I take it they have one."

"Do we really have to do this right now, Uncle Lo?" Kellie said.

"You look like you need to let off steam with a punching bag or cry," Lorenzo said, "Neither of which will go ever well when working with the cops."

"It's bad, Uncle Lo," Kellie said, "They're talking….ovarian cancer. It's usually only ever caught late stage."

"What about other causes," Lorenzo asked.

"Ruled out," Kellie said, "There's nothing I can do at the moment other than find Alyssa."

"You'll beat this," Lorenzo said, "If that is what it is.

They were interrupted by Kellie's phone dinging. Kellie looked at her phone.

"Johnny, we're going to the docks," Kellie said, "I'll tell the police to meet us there."

Kellie showed Lorenzo her phone with a message to find Alyssa at the harbor, "Garrett apparently can't resist gloating."

"We could let the cops handle it," Lorenzo said.

"Only if they get there first," Kellie said, checking to make sure her guns were loaded, "Are you coming with me."

"Let's bring Alyssa home," Lorenzo said.


	7. Chapter 7

Kellie, Lorenzo, and Johnny beat the cops to the docks. They found Garrett and his men loading Alyssa on a boat.

Hiding behind a corner, Lorenzo held Kellie back.

"We don't have time to wait for the cops," Kellie said as they heard the engine start.

"I'll go first," Lorenzo said. Lorenzo looked at Johnny as if to say, hold her back. Johnny rolled his eyes as if to say yeah right.

Lorenzo stepped out with his gun drawn.

"Garrett, I suggest you let her go if you know what's good for you," Lorenzo said.

"I'm disappointed," Garrett said, his gun also drawn, "Kellie sent you instead of coming herself. You'll have to give her a message for me."

Before Lorenzo could respond, Garret shot Lorenzo. The bullet went through the left side of his head.

Lorenzo hit the ground as sirens were blaring. Kellie out from behind the corner, leaving Johnny behind as Garrett yelled at his men to drive away from the dock.

The boat moved away from the dock.

Without hesitation, Kellie didn't stop running and jumped on the boat. Johnny checked on Lorenzo as he could no longer make the jump.

"Mommy," Alyssa yelled trying to get to Kellie. She was held back by one of the men.

"I'm glad to see I was right you'd show up," Garrett said, "it's a shame you had your uncle…"

Kellie kicked Garrett into the windshield of the boat. She elbowed the man holding Alyssa in the face. He lost a hold of Alyssa. He hit the side of the boat and was knocked out, falling over board.

Kellie grabbed Alyssa and flotation cushion and threw them overboard as Garrett started to recover.

As Kellie went to jump off the boat, Garrett pulled her to the floor of the boat.

"I guess I'll have to settle for just you," Garrett said.

Kellie used her feet to shove Garrett away and scrambled quickly to her feet.

Before she could move forward to jump off the boat, Kellie swayed, feeling dizzy. She struggled to move to the side of the boat before passing out.

The boat took off into the distance as the cops and paramedics arrived on scene and Johnny jumped into the water to retrieve Alyssa.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Just a heads up; this is one of those chapters that leaves you on anything but a high note. When I started this story, I knew we were starting with a lot of not good things going on (or seemingly going on). But this story keeps finding those twists which take it lower right now. I swear things will get better...eventually. **

Alyssa was screaming and crying as Johnny swam both of them to shore.

"Go back and get, Mommy," Alyssa yelled.

Meanwhile, the paramedics were stabilizing Lorenzo to transport him to General Hospital.

At the dock, Chase hoisted Alyssa out of the water as Valerie and another cop helped Johnny on to the dock.

"The bad man has my mommy," Alyssa wailed, "You have to go find her….before…he…hurts…her."

"Alyssa," Chase said, wrapping a towel around her, "Listen to me. We're doing everything we can to catch up to the boat. The Coast Guard is trying to stop them before they can leave the harbor. I need you to tell me everything that has happened to today. It might help us find your Mom."

Alyssa whimpered.

"Can you do that?" Chase said, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Alyssa burst into tears.

Meanwhile, Valerie was questioning Johnny.

"Why didn't you wait for the cops?" Valerie asked.

"We didn't think there was time," Johnny said, "They'd started the boat and had already untied the lines. Lorenzo went out first to talk to the them. They exchanged a few words and Garrett just shot him. At that point, Garrett gave the order to leave. Kellie ran after them and jumped on the boat.

"How did Garrett stop her from getting off the boat?" Valerie asked.

"Kellie's been sick," Johnny said, "We're not sure what the cause is. But she passed out before she could get off the boat."

The paramedics looked Alyssa and Johnny over as Valerie and Chase conferred with each other.

"Is it a full moon tonight?" Chase asked, "We've got Ryan Chamberlain back from the dead and who knows where. Franco was stabbed and Kevin and Laura Collins were kept in the basement at Fern Cliff. Meanwhile Garrett Esoterra terrorized a school today to kidnap a little girl, shooting two people in the process. Now he has Kellie Corinthos."

"We better update the commissioner rather than speculate on full moon causing craziness" Valerie said, "And get a BOLO out on Kellie Corinthos-Morgran."

"Johnny," Chase said, "Who do we need call for you and Alyssa? Jason, Charles, Sage, Sam, Sonny. Sonny's out of the country right."

"He is. I'll make the calls," Johnny said, "There's a spare phone in the car."

"The only place you two are going is the hospital," Valerie said.

"You're friends with Michael aren't you?" Johnny asked Chase.

Chase nodded.

"Call Michael," Johnny said, "He'll take it from there."

**General Hospital**

Sage was ending her shift when she saw Lorenzo being brought in,

"Oh my god," Sage said, "What happened?"

"Gunshot wound to the head," the medic said, "We have to get him in now."

Sage pulled out her phone and called Sam.

"Sam, Uncle Lo's been shot," Sage said, "In the head. I don't think it looks good. You might want to get here as soon as possible."

"I'm on my way," Sam said.

"Do you want to call your mom?" Sage asked, "Or should I? I'm not sure what they're doing but."

"She'd want to know," Sam said, "I'll call her."

Sage hung up as Johnny and Alyssa, still sobbing and hysterical, came in.

"Johnny," Sage said, "I just saw my uncle brought in."

"Garrett shot him while we were rescuing Alyssa," Johnny said.

"Thank god we have Alyssa back," Sage said, "But where's Kellie?"

Johnny shook his head, "Whatever is making her sick got the better of her before she could get away from Garrett."

"Where's Jason?" Sage asked.

"Tracking down Carly and Ryan Chamberlain," Johnny said.

Sage refrained from cursing in front of Alyssa who was still crying and sobbing.

"I have to get Alyssa checked out," Johnny said, "Is there any word on Francis?"

"He should be coming out of surgery any time now," Sage said, "That was the last I heard."

"Johnny," Epiphany said, "Detective Chase said you and Alyssa would be coming in. I have a room for you and Alyssa to wait in."

"Thank you," Johnny said.

"When will Kellie get here?" Epiphany asked, leading them to the room.

"We don't know," Sage said, "Garrett has her."

"The PCPD is looking for her now," Johnny said.

"Who makes decisions for Kellie's children in the meantime?" Epiphany asked, "Jason, Charles, Lorenzo, or you, Sage, or Sam?"

"I can," Johnny said, "If any of the ones you just mentioned are unavailable. But we should call Charles."

"I'll call him," Sage said, stepping out of the room.

"Alyssa, sweetie," Epiphany said, "We need to make sure you're okay after what you've been through today. But to do that, you're going to have to calm down."

"I don't want to calm down," Alyssa screamed, "I want my mommy."

"The police are out looking for her," Johnny said, "The best thing you can do to help your mommy is do what the nice nurse is asking."

"No," Alyssa said. She bit Johnny forcing him to drop her. She tried to run out of the room right into Finn.

"You must be Alyssa," Finn said, kneeling down to look Alyssa in the eye, "I'm Dr. Finn. Where are you in a hurry to go?"

Alyssa started to hyperventilate, still sobbing, and then tried to push Finn out of the way.

"You like to do things the hard way," Finn said, standing up, "That's good to know."

Finn picked Alyssa up and brought her back in the room, kicking and screaming.

Finn set her on the bed. Alyssa immediately stood up and let out a loud, long scream. She stopped only to breathe and started again.

"How long has she been like this?" Finn asked, "With the sobbing and crying and…"

"Since I got to her in the water," Johnny said, "It's been almost non-stop."

"She's hysterical," Finn said, "Epiphany, do you have any sedatives nearby?"

"I'll be right back," Epiphany said, leaving the room.

"Is that really necessary?" Johnny asked.

"I can't treat Alyssa in the state she's in," Finn said, "She can't be reasoned with in any sense right now. If we can get her calmed down, we can at least get a workable plan in place going forward."

"Workable plan?" Johnny asked.

"Let's deal with one thing at a time," Epiphany said, coming back in with a vial and syringe.

"No, no, no, no," Alyssa said.

"Lyssie," Spencer said, coming in the room. Alyssa didn't notice.

"Get him out of here," Epiphany said, "You have no business being in here right now."

"What are you doing to upset my cousin?" Spencer asked, "Can't you see she's been through an ordeal?"

"One that we're trying to help her with," Epiphany said, "Before you give me that I'll call who ever I'm related to."

"He's waiting outside the room," Johnny said, dragging Spencer out.

Sage and Epiphany kept Alyssa still while Finn gave her the sedative.

Out in the hallway, Spencer tried to read Johnny the riot act.

"I can't believe you just…"Spencer said, "When Uncle Sonny hears about this…"

"He'll tell Johnny he'd have done the same thing, Spencer," Charles said joining them.

"But you don't even know what's going on," Spencer said.

"Dr. Finn is with Alyssa now along with Epiphany and Sage," Johnny said, "Alyssa's hysterical. They're giving her a sedative to calm her down."

"A sedative?" Charles asked, "That seems extreme."

"I wish that were the case," Dr. Finn said, coming out of the room, along with Sage and Epiphany, "I don't relish giving young children sedatives."

"So what happens next with my granddaughter?" Charles asked.

"It depends," Dr. Finn said, "How she is when the sedative wears off. Does she calm down or not?"

"You'll run tests right," Charles asked.

"Physically Alyssa seems fine," Dr. Finn said, "Nothing more than a few bumps and bruises."

"And emotionally?" Charles asked.

"It depends on what happened to her," Sage said.

"That little girl is traumatized," Finn said, "When you consider she was in the hands of a known child trafficker, a lot could have happened to her."

"But physically you said she was…" Charles started to say, "But there are other things he could have done that wouldn't be visible."

"Until the Child Psychologist can examine her and talk to her," Epiphany said, "We won't know anything."

"Can I go see my cousin now?" Spencer asked.

"I'm sure she'd like that," Finn said, "Just be careful not to disturb her."


	9. Chapter 9

Laura and Jason had found Ava and Ryan and stopped Ryan from taking Ava over the bridge with him. Jason rescued Carly from the ravine who was being examined at the hospital. Josslyn, Cameron, Trina, and Danny were also there after Oscar came in following a seizure along with Drew and Kim.

Jason had stepped out of Carly's hospital room and found Danny and Jocelyn.

"What are you two doing here?" Jason asked.

"Oscar had a seizure while we were in Niagara falls," Jocelyn said, "We didn't know Danny had stowed away in the trunk until we were half way there. What are you doing here?"

"Ryan Chamberlain kidnapped your mom," Jason said, "She's fine. She's in the room there if you want to see her."

Jocelyn rushed into Carly's room.

"I'm just going to go to the vending machine and get something to eat," Danny said, trying to sneak off.

"Nice try," Jason said, "Do you want to tell me why you snuck off without telling anyone where you were going?"

"How do you know Mom and Uncle Drew didn't know?" Danny said.

Jason just stared at Danny.

"I wanted to have some fun okay," Danny said, "Is that a crime?"

"No, but you do need to ask permission from me or your Mom to go on trips like this," Jason said.

"You would have said no," Danny said.

"With good reason," Jason said, "You're not old enough to go on trips like that."

"But Josslyn and Cameron are," Danny said.

"That's between them and their parents," Jason said, "They're also older than you."

"It's not fair," Danny said, "They're only like 3 years older than me."

"We can discuss this more while you're grounded," Jason said.

"You can't ground me," Danny said, "I don't even live with you."

"You want to run that past your mom," Drew asked Danny, joining them.

"I can't ever do anything fun," Danny said, dumping himself in the waiting room chair.

Before Drew and Jason could talk, Jason's phone rang.

"Michael?" Jason answered, "Have you heard from Kellie at all? I know she left the hospital to go the police station."

"That's why I'm calling," Michael said, "Something went wrong."

"What do you mean wrong?" Jason asked.

"Kellie rescued Alyssa," Michael said, "But she couldn't get herself away from Garrett. He managed to get away before the cops got there."

"How did Kellie end up rescuing Alyssa?" Jason asked.

"Garrett sent her a text to find Alyssa at the docks," Michael said, "She and Lorenzo beat the cops there. Garrett was all set to take off and shot Lorenzo. Kellie jumped on the boat before it could get away and managed to throw Alyssa off the boat into the water. She passed out."

"Is Alyssa okay?" Jason asked, trying to process the news.

"I'm not sure," Michael said, "Johnny was taking her to the hospital to get checked out. Olivia has the boys now so Charles could meet them at the hospital."

"What about Francis and Lorenzo?" Jason asked.

"Francis came through surgery and they think he'll make it," Michael said, "Lorenzo was shot in the head. Beyond that I don't know."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Jason said.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked as Jason hung up the phone.

"That's good news," Drew said, "They found Alyssa."

Jason didn't respond.

"Hey," Drew said, "Alyssa's going home. I'm sure Kellie will be relieved or am I missing something?"

"Garrett ended up taking Kellie in the process," Jason said, "I can't help thinking I should have been there."

"Did she trade herself for Alyssa or what happened? Drew asked.

"Garrett taunted her," Jason said, "She went to the docks with her guard and Lorenzo."

"So Kellie had back up," Drew said, "She didn't go alone."

"Kellie wasn't in any condition to go after Alyssa," Jason said, "The doctors don't even know why yet."

"Did you know Alyssa was missing when you left to find Carly?" Drew asked.

"That happened after I left," Jason said, "I was halfway to Niagara Falls when Kellie left a message."

"It sounds like you made the best decision you could at the time," Drew said, "Not that hearing anyone say that makes it any better."

"It doesn't," Jason said.

"And if I know Kellie, she all but shoved you out the door to go find Carly," Drew said, "And come to think of it, where is Sonny?"

"He's out of the country," Jason said, "Dante went missing on mission and he's looking for him."

"Sonny's looking for Dante?" Drew asked, "And not the WSB."

"Dante went rogue in a country the WSB can't be in," Jason said.

"Jason?" Kim said, joining them before Drew could comment further, "What are you doing in Niagara Falls? Did Kellie get the ultrasound?"

"No, she didn't," Jason said, "Garrett kidnapped Alyssa. Kellie left the hospital to find Alyssa and told Monica to schedule a time for the ultrasound."

"Kellie better have the ultrasound as soon as she can," Kim said, "The longer she waits, the worse her odds get."

"As soon as we can find her, she'll get the ultrasound. Garrett took Kellie when she rescued Alyssa." Jason said, "And what odds are talking about? Did you get some of Kellie's test results back already?"

"Kellie didn't tell you," Kim replied.

"Tell me what?" Jason asked.

"It looks like your wife might have late stage ovarian cancer," Kim said.

**Somewhere around Port Charles**

Garrett was driving out of Port Charles when he got a phone call. Kellie was stashed in the trunk of the car.

Garrett accepted the call.

"You kidnapped Kellie Corinthos," Shiloh said immediately, "and terrorized a whole school full of children. What part of don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself, don't you understand?"

"Look, Kellie found us with back up and I had to improvise," Garrett said, "It might even work out better if we can use her as leverage against her father or the foundation. We'll send her to Beecher's Corners in Alyssa's place. You can do your Dawn of Day thing to her."

"You're on your own with this one," Shiloh said, "We can't risk her snooping around and messing up our operations. She doesn't strike me as the type to fall for that for that sort of thing."

"Shiloh, come on," Garrett said.

"Alyssa was one thing," Shiloh said, "Young able to be molded easily. Her mother no. I have to protect Dawn of Day and everything we've built. It's too much of a risk. Besides I'm sure you've got plenty of places you can keep her."

"As a matter of fact," Garrett said, "I do."


	10. Chapter 10

Sam ran into the waiting room and found Sage.

"They took Uncle Lo right into surgery," Sage said.

"Did the doctors say anything about his prognosis?" Sam asked.

"Unknown," Sage said, "It depends on how much damage the bullet did. If he lives, anything goes from a coma to permanent brain damage to somewhere in between."

"None of that is acceptable," Alexis said, overhearing Sage as she entered the waiting room, "He has to live with no brain damage."

"The odds don't look good right now," Sage said, "You might want to prepare yourself for the worst."

"What happened?" Alexis said, "How did Lorenzo end up…."

"He and Kellie went to chase down a lead on Alyssa," Sage said, "That's when he got shot."

"Where's Kellie and Alyssa now?" Sam asked.

"Alyssa is here," Sage said, "Spencer's sitting with her. The doctors had to sedate her. She was hysterical when they brought her in. And Kellie…."

"Is Kellie okay?" Sam asked.

"We don't know," Sage said, "Garrett has her and we don't know where she is."

"How the hell did Garrett get the upper hand on Kellie?" Sam said, "That doesn't make sense."

"Except Kellie's been sick and exhausted lately," Sage said, "I thought she was better but apparently she was here getting tests earlier today. I don't know the details."

"Where was Jason in all of this?" Alexis asked.

"Niagara falls," Sage said, "Something about Carly being kidnapped by Ryan Chamberlain. I'm not even sure Jason knows Kellie's missing."

"He knows," Michael said, approaching them, "I just talked to him. He found my mom. They're keeping her in the hospital overnight for observation."

"Did he say if he'd seen Danny," Sam said, "I know Drew is up there with Kim and Oscar. Danny apparently snuck off on this trip."

"He didn't say a lot," Michael said, "He didn't take the news of Kellie going missing well. He hung up before I tell him that the doctors think they might know why Kellie's sick."

"What do the doctor's think is wrong with Kellie?" Sage asked.

"Ovarian Cancer," Michael said, "But the doctors need to do more tests to confirm that."

They were interrupted by the sound of a clip board dropping. Charles had been filling out paper work for Alyssa overheard the conversation.

"Kellie…ovarian cancer," Charles said, "Are the doctors sure?"

"Given Kellie's symptoms, they seemed pretty sure," Michael said, going over to Charles.

"We're going to see if we can get an update on my dad," Sam said, as she, Sage, and Alexis left Michael to fill Charles in.

"I knew she had been tired lately," Charles said, "But I never imagined that."

"It was more than that apparently," Michael said, "Nausea and passing out."

"And now Kellie's in the hands of," Charles said, "And Alyssa she… Excuse me, I think I need a moment alone maybe more."

"Of course," Michael said, "if there's anything I can do for you."

"I'll let you know," Charles said, rushing off.

Meanwhile, Spencer was sitting by Alyssa hospital bed.

"Come on, Lyssie," Spencer said, "You have to wake up. I'll make sure everything will be okay for you I promise. Besides Jamie and Jared want an update since they can't sneak off as easily to get here. Don't ask me to tell them about this."

Spencer continued to sit with her.

**Niagara Falls Hospital**

"Did you just say ovarian cancer?" Jason asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Kim said, struggling to hold it together thinking of Oscar's battle, "I wish I had a better prognosis. But ovarian cancer can mimic pregnancy symptoms including elevated hormones like Kellie has. Her thyroid function is normal, so we've ruled out that as a cause. Since Kellie can't have kids that leaves us with…."

No one said anything else for several moments.

"I have to get back to Port Charles," Jason said, "But Carly has to stay…"

"You go do what you need to do find your wife," Drew said, "We'll make sure Carly gets back to Port Charles. Oscar isn't leaving until tomorrow."

"Thank you," Jason said, "I'll take Danny back with me and Josslyn too if she wants to go."

"Cameron and Trina are here too," Kim said.

"I can take all of them," Jason said.

"What if I want to stay here?" Danny asked.

"That is not an option," Jason said, "You stay here. I'm going to let Carly know what's going on."

When Jason went back into Carly's room, Josslyn was still there.

"Could I talk to your mom for a minute?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, sure," Josslyn said, moving to leave.

Once Josslyn left the room, Jason said, "I have to go back to Port Charles tonight."

"Wait, but I can't leave until tomorrow," Carly said, "How am I going to get home?"

"Drew is working on that," Jason said, "Kellie's missing. Garrett kidnapped her when she and Lorenzo rescued Alyssa."

"This has go to be a joke," Carly said, "There's no way Kellie would let anyone take her like that."

"Kellie illness caused her to pass out and Garrett took off with her," Jason said.

"Than what are you still doing here?" Carly replied, "Go find your wife before Garrett can do God knows what to her. Wait did the doctors figure out what's wrong with her?"

"They think ovarian cancer," Jason said.

"What?" Carly said, "Now that is definitely a joke."

"It's not conclusive, Carly," Jason said, "But they've ruled out the other possible causes of her symptoms."

"I refuse to believe it," Carly said, "Neither should you. Now what are you still doing here? Go get Kellie and can you take Josslyn home?."

"I plan to," Jason said, "If she's willing to go."

"She's going," Carly said, "Now go and bring your wife and child home."

"Child?" Jason replied, confused.

"Until the doctors have a definite diagnosis on Kellie," Carly said, "I'm not giving up on the idea that Kellie's pregnant and our kids being best friends. Don't argue with me...because you won't win. It's going to be okay. You'll see."

"I hope you're right, Carly," Jason said, before leaving the room, "Because I'm not sure what I'm going to do if Kellie doesn't get through any of this."

When Jason was gone, Carly grabbed the phone and made a call.

"Spinelli," Carly said when he answered, "Yes I know, I'm fine and it's awful what happened to Kellie and Alyssa. I know you're trying to track Kellie…..I need you to do something for me…The doctors think they might have an idea about Kellie. That's actually why I'm calling. I don't like the option they're considering…..that option is not important….just humor me, Spinelli. This might sound crazy and maybe it's wishful thinking. I think there's a better reason for Kellie's illness even though it's not supposed to be possible…..Can you just look through Kellie's medical records from when Alyssa was born and maybe the year after? I just need you to make sure Kellie's birth control method is as permanent as every one thinks it is…..and under no circumstances can you tell any one about this. I don't want to get Jason's hopes up…."


	11. Chapter 11

"I thought I might find you here," Monica said, entering the chapel area.

"You guessed right," Charles said, sitting in one of the pews.

"May I?" Monica asked, gesturing to the spot next to Charles.

Charles shrugged. Monica sat down next to him.

"Michael said you might have overheard…" Monica started to say, "Well he asked me to see if you were okay."

"That my daughter-in-law likely has ovarian cancer," Charles said, "I overheard that. I knew she had been under the weather, Monica. I should have insisted she go see a doctor a month ago. But I guess I wanted to believe that it was just a bug she'd get over."

"You cannot beat yourself up," Monica said, "No one could have imagined this. Even I'm having a hard time believing it. I normally wouldn't even considered ovarian cancer at Kellie's age."

"What are the odds, Monica?" Charles said, "That my son would die of leukemia. And now my daughter-in-law might be…I don't even know if we'll find her alive."

"You can't think that way," Monica said, "If there's one thing I know about Kellie, is she's a fighter all the way, even when she doesn't have to be."

"That she is," Charles said.

"I remember when we found out Luis Alcazar wasn't dead years ago and he'd kidnapped Tyler and Sonny," Monica said, "Lorenzo was in jail. Jason was in the hospital and trying to convince Kellie that if she got a lead on Tyler and Sonny not to go running off by herself."

"That didn't go over well," Charles said.

"Jason had an idea where to look and didn't want to tell her until he knew someone could go with her," Monica said, "I knew he couldn't not tell her, but that she…"

"Would pursue that lead no matter how risky it was for her," Charles said, "Not if she could save the people she cares about."

"I don't know how I did it," Monica said, "I thought it was a long shot. But I convinced her to wait until she had back up if we told her Jason's theory about where Luis was keeping them. At least she could see it if panned out in the meantime."

"I'm sure you're very persuasive when you want to be," Charles said.

"Truthfully, I guess I guilted her," Monica said, "Told her that Jason wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to her. They weren't romantically involved then, obviously. But my daughter Emily had been killed not long before that. Jason took that hard and I knew it would be like losing Emily all over again if something happened to Kellie and he wasn't able to help her. And now I can't imagine what's going through Jason's mind."

"On one hand, Carly needed help," Charles said, "She was in immediate danger. "

"It won't make it any easier," Monica said, "And Sonny's off God knows where."

"Trying to find Dante," Charles said, "Because Dante's like his sister, running off into a situation he maybe shouldn't have by himself."

Before Monica could reply she got a text message. She read it.

"I have to go," Monica said, "I know this hard. But I can't help thinking that maybe we're due for a few miracles."

"How is Oscar?" Charles asked as she was leaving.

"This last seizure was bad," Monica said.

"It sounds we both could use those miracles," Charles said as she left.

**Lorenzo's Hospital Room**

Lorenzo made it through surgery, but hadn't woken up yet.

"We got the bullet out," Griffin said, "But it did a lot of damage and there is a lot of swelling."

"Will he wake up?" Sam asked.

"It's anyone's guess at this point," Griffin said, "The next 24-48 hours will tell us a lot."

"Your dad will be okay," Alexis said, putting her arm around Sam, "He has to be. He's too stubborn to do anything else."

"I hope you're right," Sam said, "Could you stay here for a moment? I want call Drew, let him know how Dad's doing, see how Oscar is, and find out how Danny ended up in Canada."

"Of course," Alexis said, "You do whatever you need to do."

"Thank you," Sam in the waiting room, Sam was about to call Drew when she heard her name.

"Sam," Shiloh called out, approaching, "I wanted to come and offer my support for your family. When Kristina told me your Dad had been shot, I knew I had to be here for you."

"Thank you," Sam said, "But it's really not necessary."

"Just know that your Dawn of Day family is here for you," Shiloh said, "Did the police find your cousin's daughter?"

"They did," Sam said, "But my cousin is now missing."

"That's horrible," Shiloh said, "That must have been a horrific experience for her daughter. Maybe Dawn of Day could help her process that somehow."

"That won't be necessary," Charles said, having left the chapel "My granddaughter is getting the help she needs."

"I don't believe we've met," Shiloh said.

"Shiloh," Sam said, "This is Charles Scott, my cousin Kellie's father-in-law."

"I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you," Shiloh said, "But under these circumstance it feels trite."

"If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my granddaughter," Charles said.

"Of course," Shiloh said, "I know Dawn of Day's help may be unconventional. But as I'm sure Sam and Kristina can tell you…"

"If I want to know more," Charles said, brushing Shiloh off, "I'll let them tell me themselves."

Back in Lorenzo's room, Alexis was talking to Lorenzo.

"Now you listen to me," Alexis said, "You had better come out of this. No brain damage, no impairments. Your daughters and nieces need you."

Alexis choked up, "Hell….I need you. And if you ever repeat that I'll deny it. Not that you're going to remember this if you even heard it."

Alexis was startled by the sound of a groan. When she looked over at Lorenzo, she saw his eyes flutter.

**Portland, OR**

Spinelli had gotten copies of Kellie's medical records and was scanning through them. He scanned through the notes and the documents. He went back to the previous pages and then back and forth again, to ensure he saw what he thought he was seeing. Then he kept scanning through the rest of the records. After letting out an elated squeal of joy, he picked up his cell phone to make a call.

**General Hospital - Chief of Staff's Office**

Monica was pouring over Kellie's files from California when pushed her chair back in shock, exclaiming "Oh my god."


	12. Chapter 12

Charles found Spencer waiting outside Alyssa's room while Dr. Neil Bryne was with her.

"Shouldn't you be home by now?" Charles asked.

"Please," Spencer said, "If Josslyn, Cameron, Oscar, Danny, and Trina can go to Niagara Falls, I can be here. I didn't even leave town."

"Just the country of the boarding school you were in," Charles said, "Not to mention I'm not entirely sure that road trip was parent approved. Does your grandmother know you're here?"

"Here at GH no," Spencer said, "But she was in Niagara Falls too."

"Your aunt Lulu?" Charles asked.

Spencer shrugged, "You can't make me go home. Besides Jared and Jamie appointed me their eyes and ears."

"Reluctantly I'm sure," Charles said, suspiciously "you boys don't always get along."

"Except when it comes to Alyssa," Spencer said, "Most of the time."

"Point taken," Charles said, "However, you young man do not need to be running around by your self with Ryan Chamberlin on the loose."

"He went over a bridge," Spencer said, "Between you and me, I hope he didn't survive. However, his penchant for beating death rivals my families ability to come back from the dead."

"Gentleman," Neil said, coming out of Alyssa's room.

"How is she?" Charles asked, "Given the circumstances."

"She's not talking about her experience," Neil said, "She wants her mom which I understand isn't possible."

"We're doing everything we can to find her," Charles said, "But until then."

"How involved is her stepfather Jason Morgan?" Neil said.

"He's the closest thing to a father figure my grandchildren currently have," Charles said, "He'll be here as soon as he can."

"She'll need people she's trusts and feels safe with to be around," Neil said, "I'm fairly certain in addition to seeing her mother kidnapped and her uncle and guard shot, there's a good chance her abductor at least touched her inappropriately. We'll need to get her to open up so we can help her. If she won't talk, art therapy might be option once Franco is able to go back to work."

"Jason's going to love that,"Spencer said, under his breath. Charles caught it and gave Spencer a look to be quiet.

"Does Alyssa have an aunt or female figure besides her mother she's close to?" Neil asked, "She may be more receptive to a female presence."

"I'll call Olivia," Spencer said.

"You have Olivia Quartermaine's number?" Charles asked surprised.

"I have everyone's number," Spencer said, walking off and dialing Olivia.

"And Olivia is what to Alyssa?" Neil asked.

"Grandmother," Charles said.

"Come again," Neil asked.

"Kellie's brother is Olivia's son," Charles said, "Given that Kellie's mother died years ago, Olivia took Kellie under her wing when she found out about her."

"Olivia's coming," Spencer said before Neil could respond.

"I'll be around if you or Alyssa need anything else," Neil said, handing Charles his card.

**Lorenzo's Room**

Lorenzo groaned again and tried to move.

Alexis flustered rushed to his side, "Don't move. You were shot in the head."

Lorenzo's hand reached out to cup Alexis's cheek, but his hand only moved slightly and dropped back to the bed.

Alexis looked at him to see his eyes staring right at her, unnerving her. Lorenzo tried to speak but couldn't.

"Don't try to talk. I'm going to get the doctor," Alexis said, rushing out of the room.

Alexis paced in the hallway as Griffin examined Lorenzo, nearly running into Neil.

"Alexis," Neil asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Alexis said, "It's baby daddy #1 that got shot in the head and just woke up."

"I'm sorry," Neil said, racking his brain, "But wouldn't him waking up be a good thing."

"I suppose so," Alexis said, "I might have said something I didn't think he could hear."

"Such as," Neil asked.

"Don't make me repeat it," Alexis said, seeing Sam come her way, "I need to let my daughter know her father woke up."

"Of course. I'll see you at our next session," Neil said, leaving.

"Mom, what's going on?" Sam asked.

"Your father woke up," Alexis said, "Dr. Munro is with him now."

"How was he?" Sam asked.

Alexis hesitated as Griffin stepped out of the room.

"It's a good sign Lorenzo is awake," Griffin said, "However, he is suffering from impaired speech and mobility. We'll monitor him over the next couple of days. We'll have better idea of what kind of therapy he'll need after that."

"Can I go see him?" Sam asked.

"Of course," Griffin said.

"Come on," Sam said, bringing Alexis with her.

"I don't think he wants to see me," Alexis said.

"We both know that's not true, Mom" Sam said.

Alexis found herself standing by the door as Sam talked to Lorenzo.

"K..K…Kel…"Lorenzo tried to say, "Lys…Alys."

"You want to know what happened to Kellie and Alyssa?" Sam asked, "Blink once for no. Twice for yes."

Lorenzo blinked twice.

"Alyssa is here at the hospital," Sam said, "Charles, Spencer, and the doctors are with her now. As for Kellie, Garrett has her. No one's been able to find either of them yet."

Lorenzo was visibly angry and shaken.

"The cops are out looking for her," Sam said, "And Jason is on his way back here according to Drew."

Lorenzo tried to move from the bed.

"No way," Sam said, "You heard the doctor, you're staying here."

Lorenzo stilled tried to move.

"If you insist on being this foolish," Alexis said, "I'll have no choice but to go all Cassadine on you to make sure my daughter's father stays healthy.

Lorenzo stared straight at Alexis, making her uneasy, wondering if he'd heard her confession.

"Sam, if you need help with your stubborn old man, let me know" Alexis said, "I'll let Kristina and Molly know he'll be okay."

"Thanks, Mom," Sam said.

Alexis almost swore Lorenzo smirked at her as she left the room.

**The Elevators**

Jason stepped off the elevator as his phone rang. He answered seeing it was Spinelli.

Before Jason could say hello, Spinelli rambled on, not making any sense to Jason.

"Spinelli, I can't make out anything you're saying," Jason said, heading to Monica's office as she had requested, "Did you get a lead on where Garrett might have taken Kellie?"

"Well, no," Spinelli replied, attempting to talk slower, "But I think you'll find this news most fortuitous, given Kellie's ailments. The Valkyrie seemed to think less a dire reason for Kellie's illness may exist and enlisted my services follow a hunch she said she had."

"Spinelli, I know what Carly wants to believe," Jason said, standing outside Monica's office, "Right now you need to focus on tracking where Garrett might have taken my wife; not this wild goose chase Carly sent you on. I know Carly means well, but that's not helpful right now."

"If you would perhaps indulge me so that I might explain," Spinelli said, as Monica opened the door, having heard Jason's voice, "My research leads me to believe Kellie might well be able to carry your child despite beliefs to the contrary."

"That doesn't even make sense, Spinelli," Jason said, "Kellie had her tubes tied. Just focus on what I asked you to do."

Spinelli attempted to explain unsuccessfully frustrating both of them even further.

"Give me the phone, Jason," Monica said, putting her hand out.

Exasperated Jason handed Monica the phone.

"Spinelli, this is Monica, Jason's mother," Monica said, "I'm not exactly sure what is going on here. I don't want to know how or why you may gotten your hands on Kellie's medical records. But I'm going to suggest you leave those records to the professionals and you focus on finding my daughter-in-law however you do it."

"But it's important that Jason knows," Spinelli protested.

"Let me worry about that," Monica said, "Now good day, Mr. Spinelli."

Monica hung up the phone, then nodded at Jason to follow her into her office.

"You might want to sit down for this," Monica said.

"Just tell me," Jason said, "It can't be any worse than what we're already dealing with."

"Just sit down," Monica said, "Humor me."

Jason sat.

"What exactly was Spinelli rambling about?" Monica asked.

"He bought into Carly's wishful thinking that Kellie's pregnant," Jason replied.

"He may not be wrong, Jason," Monica said, "I got Kellie's medical records from California. Her tubes were never actually tied."


	13. Chapter 13

"What do you mean Kellie's tubes were never tied?" Jason asked, "Are you saying the doctor just didn't tie them?"

"All the paperwork to have the procedure done was signed off and in the file," Monica said, "Her tubes should have been tied. The records from the actual procedure don't indicate they were. In fact, Kellie was given an IUD. As far as her records indicate she should still have the IUD."

"Which would still prevent pregnancy for how long?" Jason asked.

"It depends on the type she has," Monica said, "The one given to her should have been removed or replaced by now. It would been become ineffective when Tyler was still alive. But Tyler was already undergoing treatment for Leukemia by then. He most likely wasn't capable of getting Kellie pregnant as a result."

"Which do you think is more likely?" Jason asked, "Ovarian Cancer or that Kellie's pregnant."

"Pregnancy," Monica said, "Kellie's too young for ovarian cancer. I looked over records from her pregnancies with the twins and Alyssa. She seems to be prone to extreme morning sickness. Her symptoms now are consistent with that pattern."

Jason stood up and paced the room.

"It's definitely better news than we thought possible," Monica said, "But Kellie's not out of the woods yet. Her morning sickness needs to be treated. In addition, the presence of the IUD may mean the pregnancy isn't viable and potentially life threatening to Kellie herself."

"What do you mean?" Asked Jason.

"When a woman conceives with an IUD, there's an increased risk of the embryo implanting in her fallopian tubes," Monica said, "As the baby grows."

"The tube will rupture," Jason said.

"Based on what Kellie's told me," Monica said, "I believe she's almost through the first trimester, 10-12 weeks. The risk of rupture exists until 16 weeks. Even if the baby does implant in the uterus correctly, the IUD could still cause problems if it's in the way."

"You're telling me Kellie has no idea she could even have another child," Jason said, "and her first indication could be if she loses the baby. If she survives, I might have to tell her a child existed that doesn't any more. It'll devastate her."

"Maybe," Monica said, "There's still a chance that a pregnancy could progress normally."

"Kellie's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage when Garrett's brother kidnapped her, chained her to a bed, beat her, and raped her," Jason said.

Monica's face dropped, "And we have no idea what Garrett will do to Kellie."

"Losing her child like that," Jason said, "It defined her and drove her for long time. It's a big part of the reason she fights so hard to…"

"Protect the innocents," Monica said.

"She blamed herself for so long," Jason said, "I remember when Sonny first found out Kellie had lost a child. Sonny's first response was that she was too young to have child."

"I'm sure she let Sonny have it," Monica said.

"Probably. But by the time, I showed up at the house, she'd cried herself to sleep against Sonny," Jason said, "It might have been one of the first times Sonny was actually able to connect with her."

"Because he'd experienced the loss she was still carrying," Monica said, "Was Tyler even aware at the time all that happened? Or was Kellie going through all that completely alone?"

"Tyler didn't even know Kellie had been pregnant until after he came to Port Charles," Jason said, "He was away at college I think. Kellie didn't get the chance to tell him before she miscarried. She couldn't bring herself to tell him after…"

Jason didn't finish the sentence.

"God forbid, if the worst happens," Monica said, "She won't be alone, she'll have you and a whole village to get her through it. She's not the same scared teenage girl she was back then. You'll both get through it no matter what happens. "

"You're sure," Jason asked, "Kellie really could be pregnant."

"I'd stake my life on it," Monica said, "I certainly wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't sure."

"I guess it's hard to wrap my mind around," Jason said, "Neither Kellie or I thought another child was ever even a possibility."

"It's a lot to take in," Monica said, "For you and her, especially under these circumstances. But right now, your wife needs you to do what you do best and rescue her. You can sort the rest out later."

"I can't help feeling like I already failed Kellie today," Jason said, "In my head, I know that I made the best decision I could at the time when Carly went missing. Now I can't help feeling like I should have been here for Kellie."

"Speaking of Carly," Monica said, "Where is Sonny that he couldn't go after her? Doesn't she have guards that should have been looking out for Carly before Chamberlain took her?"

"Sonny's looking for Dante," Jason said, "I'm not sure about why Carly didn't have a guard."

"You might want to look into that," Monica said, "and talk to Sonny about security for his family. I don't want to see you torn between being there for your family with Kellie and protecting Sonny's family. I know Kellie is technically Sonny's family. I also know she handles her own security and sees protection in that manner as more her responsibility not yours. She'll do what she can so you don't feel like you're stuck in the middle. But I think there's got to be a better way to handle this. Ultimately, you're the one that has to figure that out."

Jason didn't answer.

"Just think about it," Monica said as they were interrupted by Jason's phone ringing.

It's Carly," Jason said, "Do you mind if I borrow your office for a few minutes?"

"Take all the time you need," Monica said.

After Monica left the office, Jason called Carly back.

"You are welcome," Carly said.

"You realize that Monica had already asked for Kellie's records and in California," Jason said, "I couldn't even understand half of what Spinelli said.

"Spinelli was supposed to call me first," Carly said.

"Seriously, Carly," Jason said

"Let's not dwell on that," Carly said, "The important thing is that you and Kellie are actually going to have a baby. She's not dying of ovarian cancer."

"But Kellie's been kidnapped by her rapists brother," Jason said, "Has no idea she could even be pregnant and the IUD her doctor put in instead of tying her tubes could cause serious complications for her and the baby."

"Then I'm hanging up now so you can make sure those complications don't happen," Carly said, "Now go. And Congratulations. You make sure to tell Kellie that when you break the news to her."


	14. Chapter 14

Jason ran into Detective Chase out in the hallway on his way to see Alyssa.

"Can you give me an update on the search for my wife?" Jason asked.

"I'm sorry," Chase said, "We still have officers canvassing the area. However, today has stretched our resources thin between the shooting at the school and Ryan Chamberlain."

"Do you have any specific leads you're looking into?" Jason said.

"Look I can't divulge that to you as a civilian," Chase said.

"You just said the PCPD is spread thin," Jason said, "I can help."

"My hands are tied," Chase said, "I'm sorry. Now if you'll excuse me."

Jason looked like he wanted to say more, but was stopped by Charles.

"Let him do his job, Jason. If the PCPD hasn't found her by now," Charles said, "It's likely Garrett slipped out of Port Charles. NCIS would be a better bet now that they have a new trail to follow where Garrett's concerned.

"Do you have a number for one of them?" Jason asked.

"Not that would be in a position to help you," Charles said, "That is Lorenzo's department. He, though fortunately awake, can't talk or move much at the moment. It'll be months before he gets back to himself."

Jason thought for a moment made a call, "Spinelli, I need you to tell me how to find one Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Gibbs, that's an interesting choice," Charles said, wondering how that would go over.

"How's Alyssa?" Jason asked.

"In need of some familiar faces," Charles said as he and Jason made their way to Alyssa's room, "Olivia's with her now. She wants her mom and she refuses to talk about what happened to her."

"Did Garrett touch her?" Jason asked.

"We think so," Charles said, "but nothing visible or obvious."

"What about Jared and Jamie?" Jason asked,

"At the Quartermaine Mansion with Alice. They're cooperating with Spencer to keep an eye on Alyssa," Charles said, "Spencer has been glued to Alyssa's side since she came in and keeps Jamie and Jared apprised of things here to a degree. He set up a video call for them with Alyssa once she calmed down."

"If I have to leave town to track Kellie down," Jason said, "Can you stay with the kids?"

"You don't even have to ask," Charles said, "The only thing that matters is you find Kellie quickly, so she has a fighting chance of beating this cancer."

Charles caught Jason shift uncomfortably.

"What is it?" Charles asked as they stopped outside Alyssa's room.

"I'm not sure how to tell you this, Charles," Jason said, "Kellie's doctor in California gave her an IUD instead of tying her tubes. According to Monica, the IUD would been ineffective at preventing pregnancy for a least a couple of years now. She thinks it's more likely that Kellie's pregnant rather than suffering from cancer."

Charles breathed a sigh of relief, but was visibly stunned.

"I'm not even sure I can wrap my brain around that entirely," Charles said, "But that is the best news I've heard all day."

"You're okay with Kellie and I having a baby," Jason said, "I thought you might have difficulty with that considering she was married to your son."

"Considering the fact we thought Kellie was facing a death sentence," Charles said, "I think I can more than live with another child running around. The truth is life goes on and it's been going on for quite awhile."

"With the IUD, the pregnancy could still be life-threatening," Jason said.

"I still like these odds better," Charles said, "Maybe not what any of us expected…"

Charles stopped talking and paused before continuing, "Helena."

"What does Helena have to do with this?" Jason asked.

"Did Kellie ever tell you what Helena left her and Tyler in her will?" Charles asked.

"A cigar with a pink ribbon," Jason said, "But she and Tyler never figured out what it meant. So Helena could have paid a doctor off not to tie Kellie's tubes, but why?"

"When it came out that my Tyler's mother was Helena's daughter, Helena changed directions with how she took her revenge on Kellie," Charles said, "Up until her death, Helena didn't bother much with Tyler, Kellie, and kids. And when she did it was more like a game she was playing. Her favorite thing to do was remind Kellie that her blood runs through her children's veins. I think the woman got some sort of satisfaction from just knowing Kellie was raising her great-grandchildren."

"So Helena was trying to manipulate the situation so that Kellie give birth to at least one more great-grandchild for her," Jason said.

"It definitely would be something Helena would do. What I can't figure out is why even bother with an IUD if that was the case?" Charles said.

"Unfortunately confirming if Helena was behind the change in Kellie's birth control method will have to wait," Jason said, "Once we can track down the doctor, we can probably figure that out eventually."

"All I can say is that if it was Helena," Charles said, "It definitely did not go according to her plan."

From around the corner, Shiloh went unnoticed having overheard Jason and Charles's conversation.

**Somewhere south of New York**

Garrett had driven south as far as he could before he realized he needed to stop and sleep. He had handcuffed and tied Kellie up in the back of the suv. With the anti-nausea wearing off, Kellie was in no shape to fight back.

He found a motel in the middle of nowhere to stop where he paid the desk clerk enough money not to ask questions.

"We are going to have some fun tonight Kellie girl," Garrett said, lift her out of the car.

In the motel room, Garret unbound her and threw her on the bed.

"I've been thinking all the things I'd do to you for a long time," Garrett said, taking his shirt off. He sat on the bed and pulled Kellie against him.

Kellie tried to get up from the bed. Garrett pulled her tighter against him.

Kellie tried to shove him, "No."

"Soon you'll learn, the answer is always yes," Garrett said, slapping her face, "I'm going to enjoy breaking you. And one day I'll break your daughter too."

Kellie struggled to get away and then threw up all over Garrett.

Garrett shoved her away disgusted. Kellie fell to the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Garrett screamed.

"I'm sick, you asshole," Kellie said, trying to make her way towards the door while Garrett was distracted cleaning vomit off of him, "and most likely dying to boot."

"Not before I have my fun with you," Garrett said, realizing what Kellie was doing. He quickly moved and before Kellie knew what happened, he'd handcuffed her hands back together, before she passed out again.

Garrett left Kellie on the floor while he went to finish cleaning himself up.

When his phone rang, he answered it.

"You haven't tried anything with Kellie Corinthos yet have you?" Shiloh asked.

"Not for lack of trying," Garrett replied, "She threw up all over me and fainted. She said whatever ails her is killing her."

"Kellie Corinthos-Morgan only thinks that she's dying," Shiloh said, "A misguided assumption on her part. However, she can't be blamed for that. Not when to her knowledge she's incapable of conceiving a child."

Garrett looked at Kellie lying on the floor, "Are you saying what I think you're saying."

"I overheard Morgan telling her dead husband's father that Kellie could be pregnant," Shiloh said.

"Can you imagine the price some people would pay for the child of Kellie Corinthos and Jason Morgan?" Garrett said, laughing.

"We won't be selling that child," Shiloh said, "I want him or her. Can you think of a better way to assist the karma coming his way? Morgan and his insufferable twin think they own Sam and Kristina, trying to poison them against the good we do. Think about it; Jason's child being raised in the Dawn of Day family and he'll have no idea."

"Do you know how difficult it's going to be to keep my hands off of her?" Garrett said.

"Her history of miscarriage during those type of activities means you have to," Shiloh said, "Think of the well being of the child. Once the kid is born, Kellie is yours to do what you want with."

"I may just have to bring in a doctor and confirm this," Garrett said, "And I know just who to bring in for this assignment."

"I'm sure you do," Shiloh said, "Keep me posted on how the mother and her child fare."

After Garrett and Shiloh ended the call, Garrett knelt on the floor next to Kellie, moving her hair out of her face. Kellie was still out of it.

"You have no idea, do you?" Garrett said, "I guess we'll have to see how long it takes you to realize what precious cargo you're carrying."


	15. Chapter 15

Garrett was interrupted by another phone call from Shiloh.

"I almost forgot there's one other thing you'll want to keep an eye on," Shiloh said, "I'm not sure on all the details, but Kellie could have an IUD. That might cause an issue with the pregnancy."

"Noted," Garrett said, "I'll let the doctor making a house call know."

**General Hospital **

Jason entered Alyssa's hospital room. Alyssa was asleep as Olivia sat next to her.

"How is she?" Jason asked.

"She finally went to sleep about twenty minutes ago," Olivia said

They were interrupted by the sound of Alyssa whimpering, "No," and then letting out a scream, "Mommy."

Jason moved quickly to Alyssa's side, gently nudging her awake.

"It's okay, Alyssa," Jason said quietly, "You're safe. I promise."

Alyssa quieted down and slowly woke up.

"Uncle Jason," Alyssa said, groggily, sitting up, "You're going to save Mommy from the spider right."

"Spider?" Jason asked puzzled.

"The spider that took Mommy and had his hands all over me," Alyssa said.

"I'm going to everything I can do find your mom," Jason said.

"Pinky swear," Alyssa said, holding her pinky out.

"Pinky swear," Jason said, locking pinkies with Alyssa.

"Tell Mommy I'm sorry," Alyssa said.

"Sorry for what?" Jason asked.

"For getting her napped by not going the same direction as the other kids," Alyssa said, "The spider said it was my fault he took me and him touching me for trying to hurt him at the school. That I'm being punished. So that means Mommy getting taken is my fault too."

"Aww honey," Ollvia said, "What the Spider did was not your fault? I don't care what he tells you."

"That's right," Jason said, "That spider is the one who chose to do the wrong thing and to take you and your Mom and anything else he did."

"But I didn't do what the teachers said," Alyssa said, "And now the Spider has mom."

"Should you have done what the teachers said," Jason replied as Alyssa yawned, "Yes. But that's doesn't make what the Spider did your fault."

"We will tell you that as many times as it takes for you to believe that," Olivia said, "Do you think you can go back to sleep."

"What if I dream about the spider?" Alyssa asked, dozing off.

"Since it's your dream," Jason said, "You can imagine you're bigger than him and step on him."

Alyssa didn't respond having fallen back to sleep.

"You just have sweet dreams," Jason said, kissing her forehead before he turned to leave the room.

Olivia followed him into the hallway, "If I ever get my hands on Garrett…"

"You won't have to," Jason said, "I promise you he's not getting near Alyssa ever again. I'll do whatever it takes."

You promise me, Jason," Olivia said, "You're going to bring our girl home. I'll hold you personally responsible if Kellie doesn't come back with you."

"I'm going to bring her home," Jason said.

"I know Kellie was in the hospital earlier today," Olivia said, " Did the doctors figure out what was wrong with her?"

"She's either pregnant or has ovarian cancer," Jason said, "Until we get her home for more tests, we don't know for sure."

"I didn't think Kellie could get pregnant," Olivia said.

"No one did," Jason said, "Monica looked over her records from California. Let's just say Kellie's tubes weren't tied like we thought."

Olivia stood shocked as they were interrupted by Jason's phone ringing, "Spinelli, what do you have for me?…Text me the address."

Jason hung up the phone, "I have to go. Charles or Monica can fill you on Kellie's possible condition."

"You just bring Kellie home," Olivia said, trying to be strong, "My son's is God knows where right now. And I know I didn't give birth to Kellie or raise her. In my heart, she's my daughter as much as Dante and Leo are my sons. The thought of her at Garrett's mercy, Jason…"

Jason gave Olivia a hug, "It'll be okay, I'll make sure of it. Though I'm not sure how yet. For the record, I know she probably doesn't tell you this, but I know Kellie thinks of you as her mom."

"Just when she's drunk or being a brat," Olivia said, "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

**The Quartermaine Mansion**

"They can stay here if needed," Monica said as Jason stood in the doorway of the bedroom, watching Jared and Jamie sleep, "If Charles need a place for them to stay for some reason."

"I think he plans to stay at the house with them," Jason said, "I'm sure he'll reach out to you or Olivia if he needs help."

Monica nodded and left Jason with the boys.

Jason walked softly into the room and woke both boys up.

"I'm sorry to wake you guys up," Jason said, "But I didn't want to just leave town without talking to you."

"You're going after mom, right?" Jared asked.

"Of course he is," Jamie said.

"Yes," Jason said, "I have to leave town."

"So Garrett took Mom out of town?" Jared asked.

"I don't know," Jason said, "I know the PCPD is looking for her here. But if he did take her out of town, I'll find her."

"You'll cover more ground that way," Jamie said.

"And another law enforcement agency has been looking into Garrett's activities for a long time," Jason said, "I think they might be able to help."

"Did you find out why mom's sick before she was taken?" Jared asked.

"Not quite," Jason said, "The doctors didn't get to finish running tests before she went to find your sister."

"If mom's sick why is she chasing bad guys?" Jamie asked.

"Because there is nothing she wouldn't do to make sure you stay safe," Jason said, "The doctors had given her some medicine to help her feel better and she thought she was up to it."

"Wait so Mom's goes after bad guys sick while Alyssa goes after bad guys even though she's too little instead of running from them," Jared said, "So Alyssa is just taking after Mom when she does that?"

"Yes and no," Jason said, "I get on the surface it looks the same."

"Mom took Uncle Lo and Johnny with her," Jamie said, "The cops were on their way. It was on the news. Alyssa probably didn't even think about what she was doing when she saw Garrett. She was mad and just decided she was going to do what she wanted to do."

"Did you see Alyssa?" Jared asked.

"I saw her," Jason said, "She was sleeping when I left the hospital."

"Did Garrett hurt her in any way?" Jamie asked.

"She had a night mare while I was there," Jason said, "She'll probably have them for awhile."

"Like mom," Jared said.

"We'll sleep in her bedroom if we have to and make sure she doesn't have nightmares," Jamie said.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," Jason said, "She also thinks that Garrett hurting her, taking her and your mom is her fault. If she tries to tell you that, you need to help her understand it's not her fault. Regardless of what she did or didn't do at school today, she isn't to blame for what Garrett decided to do to her."

"We can do that," Jared said.

"It's not the victims fault," Jamie said, "That's what mom and dad taught us when ever we had to go with Mom to work with people they rescued from whatever Mom rescued them from. I just never thought we'd have to use that for one of our family members."

"And try to get along with Spencer," Jason said.

"We are," Jared said, "We have to get along with him."

"We can't exactly sneak off to the hospital to check on her with guards," Jamie said, "Not that we considered it."

**The other side of town**

Meanwhile across town, an unknown man opened the door of an apartment. Upon entering he saw invader newspapers opened to the medical column penned by Liesl Obrecht.

He heard movement and stopped just shy of the corner by the hallway.

"Who dares disturb me at this hour?" Liesl demanded to know, coming down the hallway. She was holding a lamp.

The man waited for Liesl to come into the living room and knocked her out before she could see him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Somewhere Outside Miami, Florida**

After leaving the hotel, Garrett had managed to get a private jet to move Kellie down to Florida. He kept her sedated until he had her secured at the new location.

Eventually, Kellie slowly started to wake up. The first thing she noticed was the ceiling looked strangely familiar. Then she realized she was laying on a bed.

Kellie sat up and had to stop herself, feeling the nausea she'd been struggling with for weeks.

As Kellie tried to get her bearings, she realized she'd been in this cabin before. It looked exactly the same as it did when Ethan had held her there and raped her.

Realizing, she hadn't been handcuffed, Kellie went to swing her legs to get off the bed. She found one of her ankles had been shackled. The chain was attached to bed which was bolted to the floor.

"I hope you find the accommodations to your liking," Garrett said, standing at the end of the bed, "You did enjoy them so much the first time."

Kellie closed her eyes as if she could somehow wish herself out of the situation. Garrett moved to the side of the bed, bending to look Kellie in the face.

"Unlike my brother, I did do you the courtesy of allowing you to move about somewhat freely," Garrett said, touching Kellie's cheek.

Kellie shoved Garrett. Then went to use her unshackled foot to kick him. However, the movement and the nausea caused her to fall back on the bed.

"I'd advise against violent moves if I were you," Garrett said, straddling Kellie on the bed and holding her arms down, "You have a lot more to lose than you might think."

"You forget one thing, Garrett," Kellie said, "I'm dying. As long as my children are safe from you, there's nothing holding me back from making sure that situation stays permanent. Whatever it takes. I'd say you have everything to lose. What idiot takes a dying pissed off mother to the middle of nowhere…oh that's right you."

Garrett lost control and slapped her.

Realizing he needed to control himself, Garrett quickly moved away from Kellie.

"There's bottled water in the fridge," Garrett said, "Someone will be by with dinner later."

"Like I'd eat or drink anything you gave me," Kellie said.

"I have a vested interest in keeping you alive as you'll eventually figure out," Garrett said, "You're of no value to me dead yet."

Garrett slammed the door behind him as he left.

Kellie might have panicked except the nausea and dehydration got the better of her. Her last thought before unconsciousness claimed her was her pants felt strangely tight.

**Washington D.C. **

Gibbs returned to his house and noticed the front door was cracked open. He pulled his gun before slowly entering the house.

Gibbs founds himself pointed a gun at Jason who was sitting on his couch. Jason had left his guns sitting out on the coffee table.

Jason put his hands in the air.

"Put your hands down, Morgan," Gibbs said, holstering his gun, "Do you want to explain to me why I shouldn't have you hauled in for breaking and entering?"

"The door was unlocked," Jason said, putting his hands down.

"You think you're funny," Gibbs said, "Why is Sonny Corinthos right hand man sitting in my living room?"

"I want in on NCIS's investigation," Jason said.

"What investigation?" Gibbs said, "You're going to have to be more specific."

"You've been investigating Garrett Esoterra," Jason said, "Now he's resurfaced, kidnapping my wife. I thought maybe we could share information."

"Any information you might share with me probably isn't legal," Gibbs said, "That doesn't seem like a fair trade. I don't my superiors would be okay with me sharing government information with a mob hitman. You'd probably have better luck with the PCPD."

"What are the chances Kellie is still even in their jurisdiction?" Jason asked.

"Isn't that you have your little jackal friend for?" Gibbs replied.

"He's working on it," Jason said, "But NCIS has been tracking him for years. I figure you might have a leg up on this, save some time, and get to Kellie sooner."

"You're acting like your wife is incapable of turning the tables on Garrett," Gibbs said, "I'd expect that she's devising a plan to get free and lead us to Garrett."

"Have you read the reports from the kidnapping yet?" Jason asked.

"Not yet," Gibbs said, "We know Garrett has her and we're trying to pick up his movements. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to figure out who all his associates are. What aren't you telling me?"

"Kellie passed out," Jason said, "That's why Garrett was able to take her."

"Passed out because he chloroformed her?" Gibbs asked.

"Passed out because she might be pregnant," Jason said, "or have cancer. We don't know for sure yet."

"You don't know," Gibbs said, "It seems like knowing if someone of your wife's notoriety is pregnant would be something Kellie would figure out fairly quickly. You two have been together for how long now."

"Kellie didn't think she could get pregnant," Jason said.

"You really expect me to believe that," Gibbs said, "Do you want to explain to me how that's possible?"

"Helena Cassadine," Jason said.

"I'm sorry asked," Gibbs said, "I don't want to know."

Neither one spoke.

"Look, I came to you because I thought you'd be willing to help," Jason said, " Despite the animosity you pretend to have towards Kellie."

"Oh there's no pretend about that," Gibbs said.

"Did you or did you not threaten me if I hurt Kellie?" Jason asked.

"Hearsay," Gibbs said.

"My profession aside, Kellie's an innocent victim in this," Jason said, "along with the child she could be carrying. Right now I have nothing out of Port Charles. The boat they were on disappeared and there's no trace. He could have gone anywhere with her. But if you're not going to help, I'll just be on my way."

Jason stood up.

"Sit back down, Morgan," Gibbs said, "I'll help you. But there are a few things we need to discuss first."


	17. Chapter 17

"What do you know about Valentine Cassadine?" Gibbs asked, "My director said Kellie called him to let him know that Garrett had resurfaced. She indicated Valentine Cassadine was behind his disappearance at the airport months ago. What else can you tell me?"

"Valentine showed up yesterday to warn us some of his men had seen Garrett around Port Charles," Jason said, "His account didn't add up. He hadn't notified the cops and couldn't give an exact location as to where he'd been seen."

"Given that Mr. Cassadine's own daughter was kidnapped by Garrett," Gibbs said, "I can't come up with a good enough reason he wouldn't notify the police unless he had taken matters into his own hands."

"And lost control of the situation," Jason said.

"That begs the question," Gibbs said, "Who in Port Charles is Garrett's accomplice? Because I don't think just anyone would go wandering in the tunnels of Spoon Island. I certainly can't see any of Mr. Cassadine's men just letting Garrett go."

"Not unless they were sure of some kind of protection," Jason said.

"Valentine Cassadine isn't exactly someone you double cross," Gibbs said, "The question is who would be willing to look for Garrett, set him free, and cross a Cassadine."

"Honestly," Jason said, "I have no idea."

"Because while there are some major players willing to go up against Cassadine in Port Charles," Gibbs said, "I can't think of any big names willing to set Garrett free except maybe some of your associates. Rumor has it your marriage to Kellie and Maximus Giambetti Senior, claiming your step children as blood relatives put an end to that. Are there any new characters hanging about Port Charles?"

"I can't see the new district attorney being part of something like that," Jason said, "There is this Shiloh doing a lot of community outreach and self-help classes. Kellie's sister has been heavily involved his group."

"Are you buying this guy's schtick?" Gibbs asked.

"It seems off," Jason said, "Like it's too good to be true. We're concerned about Kristina being so involved. It's like nothing exists for her. And Shiloh was also known as David Henry Archer, former contractor for military. My ex-wife was married to his father. He knew my brother when he was in the Navy."

You've got to be kidding me," Gibbs said, "He's got connections to the navy and he's in Port Charles?"

"What are you getting at?" Jason asked.

"Garrett uses Navy Seaman and Petty Officers looking to make extra money to move people he's trafficking," Gibbs said, "I don't think it's a coincidence this Shiloh Archer character has a navy connection."

"Let me give my people a call," Jason said.

"Hold on, hot shot" Gibbs said, "We have more things to discuss. Before you protest we're wasting time, my team is already looking for Garrett and your wife. The Shiloh angle will have to wait pending finding Kellie. We don't have enough for the PCPD to go search Shiloh's properties."

"What else do we need to discuss?" Jason asked.

"You understand I'm running the show," Gibbs said, "You follow my orders. You step out of line. You're out of the loop. You will share everything you find with my team and we'll figure out how to find it legally if necessary."

"Understood," Jason said.

"You will not go running off on your own," Gibbs said, "You find something, you inform my team."

"I'll let you know," Jason said, "But it doesn't mean I"ll wait for you to catch up."

"No deal," Gibbs said, "As you've said my team has been tracking Esoterra for years. I will not have a vigilante hitman screwing up my investigation simply because he's to impatient to let my people do their jobs. I will throw the book at you if necessary."

"It's a risk I'll take," Jason said, "if it means Kellie's safe. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, Where the hell were you when Kellie was kidnapped?" Gibbs asked.

**The Cabin outside Miami**

Garrett was waiting outside the cabin for his men to show up with Obrecht.

They roughly shoved her onto the porch.

"It's about time you showed up," Garrett said.

"What business could I possibly have with scum like you?" Obrecht said, "Selling children for profit? Using them to satisfy unnatural desires of their buyers?"

"You'll do what I tell you," Garrett said, "I have contacts who won't hesitate to harm your grandson if you won't. In fact, I think he'll fetch quite the price on the black market,"

"What is it that you want?" Obrecht asked.

"Get comfortable," Garrett said, "You'll be spending the foreseeable future making sure the woman in the cabin lives enough to give birth and satisfy my needs afterwards."

"What the hell kind of monster are you?" Obrecht replied as Garrett opened the door to the cabin.

"You'll need to get her morning sickness under control," Garrett said, "Apparently, its wicked. She may have an IUD that could cause complications. Oh, under no circumstances are you to tell your patient she's pregnant."

"If you plan to hold me captive," Obrecht growled, "I'll need to make sure my daughter and daughter-in-law don't start asking questions."

"It's handled," Garrett said, shoving Obrecht into the cabin. Then he slammed the door and locked it behind her.

"Some one needs to teach that two-bit pansy some manners," Obrecht huffed. She noticed a body sprawled across the bed.

Obrecht went to see who it was.

Standing next to the bed, Obrecht brushed strands of dark brown hair out of her patients face.

"Kellie Corinthos," Obrecht said, assessing her condition, "This is quite the predicament you've gotten us into."

Obrecht tried to wake her. Kellie mumbled in response, "Obrecht," and struggled to move.

Obrecht replied, "I have no desire to be here any more than you do. Do you have any medications."

"No, wore off," Kellie said, "Left in car…PC"

Obrecht quickly searched the cabin and then marched to door. Finding it locked, she banged on it.

"I suggest you make better use of your time," the goon standing guard said when he opened the door.

"I suggest you tell your boss that if he wants this young woman to give birth to a healthy child," Obrecht said, "He get me supplies. She needs an iv with a saline solution and anti-nausea meds to start with. Do you have paper I could make a list on?"

The goon hesitated.

"What are you waiting for?" Obrecht asked, "Are you stupid enough to allow this girl to die against your bosses wishes? I can only imagine what he would do to repay such brainlessness."

The goon made a call. Then provided Obrecht with a notepad and pen. After leaving the list with the goon, Obrecht grabbed water from the fridge to try to get Kellie to drink it.

"How far a long are you?" Obrecht asked.

Kellie shook her head.

"No, cancer." Kellie said.

"Just save your strength," Obrecht said as Kellie dozed back off into unconsciousness.

**Turkey**

Robert was talking to Sonny when he received an alert on his phone. Robert's face fell as he read it.

"Is it about Dante?" Sonny asked.

"Kellie," Robert answered.

"What about my daughter?" Sonny asked.

"Garrett has her," Robert said.

"What do you mean Garrett Esoterra has my daughter?" Sonny asked.

"He kidnapped her," Robert said, "Unfortunately, some of the details are blacked out over here. But from what I can tell, Kellie was taken trading herself for Alyssa. Garrett also shot a guard and Alcazar. Both are in critical condition."

"And Jason?" Sonny asked.

"Alive," Robert said, "I'm sorry I don't have more information for you."

Sonny kicked the alley wall.

"What are your people doing to get my daughter back?" Sonny asked.

"Everything they can," Robert said, "Now what do you want to do? Are you still going after Dante?"

"Of course," Sonny said, "At least I know your people will look for my daughter. The same can't be said for Dante."

"As soon we're out of Turkey, I can make some calls and find out more," Robert said, "By then you can call Jason or Alcazar or whoever you need to."

"I wasn't going to ask your permission," Sonny said.

"Come off it, Corinthos," Robert said, "And let's focus on something we can actually do something about at the moment, finding Dante."


	18. Chapter 18

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Jason said.

"I'm making it my business," Gibbs said, "You had one job when you married Kellie, Morgan, and that was to make sure she stayed safe and look out for her. So where were you when she needed you?"

"Saving Carly...and Ava... from Ryan Chamberlain," Jason said.

"Carly as in Sonny Corinthos's wife?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Jason said, "We suspected Ryan had kidnapped her."

"Why the hell wasn't Sonny going after his own wife?" Gibbs asked, "especially with his daughter, your wife sick."

"He's out of the country on business," Jason said.

"So where were Carly's guards?" Gibbs replied, "Or is Sonny still in the habit of thinking a guard isn't necessary? Hasn't he learned his lesson with Emily Quartermaine and his son Michael already?"

Jason didn't respond.

"You're telling me Sonny didn't have guards on his wife," Gibbs said, "That could have stopped Ryan Chamberlain from kidnapping her in the first place."

Jason still didn't answer. He just stared Gibbs down.

"So let's get this straight," Gibbs said, "Your boss didn't have guards on his wife that could have least attempted to prevent her from being kidnapped or gone after her instead of you leaving your sick wife at the hospital. A sick wife whose enemy resurfaced that very day."

"I made the best decision I could at the time," Jason said, "When I left Kellie she was sitting in the hospital waiting on test results and to take more tests. At that point, Alyssa was safe at school and Alcazar was going to check on the security situation. Kellie agreed that I needed to go after Carly."

"Of course she would tell you to go after her stepmom," Gibbs said, "I also know that the minute one of Kellie's kids was in danger, she'd be the first one in line to go after them, no matter what shape she's in."

"I couldn't predict that, Lorenzo would get shot," Jason said, "He went first and her guard was with her."

"That's my point, Morgan," Gibbs said, "Things in your world, Kellie's world have the tendency to go worst scenario at any given time. You started the situation out down the guards that should have been on Carly and Kellie not at her best. The first didn't have to happen."

"That's no guarantee Ryan wouldn't have incapacitated the guards," Jason said.

"I get your point," Gibbs said, "But at least you wouldn't be asking yourself if you had done everything that could have possibly been done to prevent the situation Kellie's in now."

Fornell let himself into the house before Jason could respond, "Gibbs, you texted you had a job for me."

"Yeah, babysitting him," Gibbs said.

"How did you know he would show up here?" Fornell said, "You texted me last night."

"Lucky guess," Gibbs said, "I figured it was only a matter of time. The PCPD can only do so much if Garrett took her over state lines before turning it over to the FBI. His boss is out of the country. Garrett critically injured one guard and Lorenzo Alcazar. Morgan's short a lot of people."

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" Fornell asked.

"Simple you go where he goes," Gibbs said, "And make sure he stays of my way."

"You know you who this guy is," Fornell said, "You want me to stop a mob hitman from going after you. He's one of the best in the business."

"It should be simple enough," Jason said, "We're going to your office."

"I'm going to my office," Gibbs said, "You are staying here."

"And doing what exactly," Jason said, "Shouldn't…"

"No," Gibbs said, "You don't have clearance. Guarding Kellie when you were here before is a totally different thing than what we're talking about now. You'll stay here, do what ever it is you would do without me other than leave and then share information with my team. Fornell will make sure that information gets shared."

"You can't do that," Jason said.

"My rules remember," Gibbs said, "You don't like them there's the door."

Gibbs walked out the door.

"Is he always such a…" Jason started to ask.

"It's a terminal condition," Fornell said, "What exactly was he dressing you down for when I walked in?"

"Going after Carly and the fact that Carly didn't have any guards on her," Jason said.

"He does have a point," Fornell said.

"You're not helping," Jason said.

"I'd be more concerned if he didn't dress you down for that," Fornell said.

"For someone that doesn't seem to get along with my wife," Jason said, "He seems overly concerned about her security situation."

"Do Kellie and Gibbs get along? Barely on a good day" Fornell said, "But behind his tough hide and her feisty demeanor, they both respect each other. And Gibbs he'll do everything he can to find her. You came to the right place."

"Who exactly are you?" Jason asked.

"Tobias Fornell, private investigator and former FBI agent," Fornell said, "And you, well you're Jason Morgan. So while we wait for Gibbs, what are we doing?"

Jason took one look at Fornell and walked out the door. Fornell scrambled after him.

**NCIS**

Gibbs marched into NCIS.

"Gibbs we have a lead on where Esoterra may have ditched a stolen car near an airfield," Bishop said.

"Keep looking," Gibbs said, "McGee, I need you to find me everything you can on one David Henry Archer, also goes by the name of Shiloh, and he used be a contractor in the middle east for the Military."

"Kellie Corinthos asked the Director for information on this Shiloh weeks ago," McGee said, "We can't get the files. They're sealed. Majorly sealed. Unless you have something more."

Gibbs marched up to Leon's office.

"What do we need to do to get David Henry Archer's records," Gibbs asked, "McGee told me some one has sealed this records. And why did Kellie Corinthos want them?"

"Why do you need the records?" Leon asked.

"It's a hunch," Gibbs said, "Esoterra uses navy seaman and petty officers for transporting people. This Shiloh is now setting up shop in Port Charle. According to Jason Morgan, this Shiloh used to be a contractor in the middle east for the Navy. He even crossed paths with Andrew Cain. Through Cain obviously doesn't remember."

"You're going to need more than a hunch to get that file," Leon said, "Kellie asked what I could find out about the man. Seems her sister is getting in pretty deep with this Dawn of Day group, appears to do a lot of community outreach. Kellie wanted to know if he was on the up and up. When I had McGee look up the file, I was told that unless we had strong evidence tying him to a case, that file was off limits."

"What the hell did this guy do?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know," Leon said, "He knows somebody and is apparently very concerned about anything that could tarnish the Dawn of Day image. Considering he's gone to great lengths to promote this image of peace and community service, we have to tread carefully. When did you speak to Jason Morgan?"

"In my living room this morning," Gibbs said, "I have Fornell watching him."

"Gibbs," Leon said, "He better be there of his own free will or Diane Miller will eat us alive."

"He is," Gibbs said, "He came to me for help finding Kellie."

"What exactly is your plan for helping Morgan?" Leon asked.

"Make sure he communicates information he's found and figure out how to use it legally," Gibbs said, "Like I said Fornell is with him."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Leon said, "Do you really expect Morgan to just sit on your living room couch while…."

McGee's voice interrupted on the intercom, "Director, security says some one claiming to be Jason Morgan refuses to leave until he speaks to you."

"Have Jackie go escort him up here," Leon said, hitting the button on the intercom.

"Leon, seriously," Gibbs said.

"He showed up in your living room and he's your problem," Leon said, "We're better off having him here than rogue as much I don't like the man's alleged profession."

"Put him in an interrogation room." Gibbs said, "I'm sure we can find something to hold for to keep him out of the way."

"He also might be our best shot at getting the evidence we need to get the files on Shiloh,"Leon said, "As of right now, Morgan's an asset. One I expect you to work with."


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: My apologies for the long delay in updating. I usually try to give notice if I know I won't be able to update. But I ended up not having time to complete another chapter before going on vacation. Happy Friday and enjoy!**

Jackie brought Jason into headquarters as Fornell followed behind him.

"What good are you, Fornell?" Gibbs asked.

"I told you," Fornell said.

"Enough," Leon said before they could continue, "I suggest you make more efficient use of your time and start working together."

"What do you have so far?" Jason asked.

"We got a lead on a car Garrett might have ditched near and airfield," Bishop replied.

"We're checking the airfield for flight plans and records," McGee said.

"What about cameras or…"Jason asked.

"Haven't gotten that far," McGee said.

Jason grabbed his cell phone.

"Wait a minute," Gibbs said, "You can't call your hacker friend to do whatever you want. There are rules and procedures for this."

Fornell huffed in disbelief, "You could use this Jackal as a consultant."

"Whose side are you on Fornell?" Gibbs said.

"Kellie's, same as yours," Fornell said.

"Gibbs, Fornell," Leon said, taking control of the situation, "Downstairs with the rest of the team to keep working the case. Jackie, take Morgan to your office and see what he can tell us about this Shiloh. I'll see what I can do about using your friend as a consultant and have him work with McGee."

Gibbs and Jason both looked like they wanted to argue.

"If either one of you think about arguing with me," Leon said, "I'll throw both of you into lock up for 24 hours while Fornell and McGee run the case."

"Come on, Fornell," Gibbs said, "Let's see if you can do something useful for once."

Gibbs and Fornell left.

"I guess that leaves you with me," Jackie said.

"Look, I should be with Gibbs and the rest of your team," Jason said.

"Are you going to take orders from Gibbs?" Leon asked.

"If I agree with him, yes," Jason replied.

"And that is why you aren't going with Gibbs right now," Leon said, "You came to us for help. You better decide if you want it or not. Now I have to speak with Sec Nav. If you'll excuse me."

"Come on," Jackie said, urging Jason out of the room.

"Pick a lollipop," Jackie said.

"Why?" Jason said, "I don't want one."

"Humor me," Jackie said.

Jason grabbed a red one.

"Mmhmmm," Jackie said as if it was what she suspected.

"What now?" Jason asked.

"Tell me about Shiloh," Jackie said.

"And lollipop," Jason asked.

"Just a quirk of mine," Jackie replied, "So why is my boss interested in this Shiloh person?"

"He thinks he might have a connection to Garrett," Jason said, "Shiloh or David Henry Archer used to be a contractor for the Department of Defense and Navy. Since Garrett is known to use low ranking navy officers…"

"He doesn't think it's a coincidence they are both in Port Charles," Jackie said, "That's a matter of looking through his files."

"Which have been sealed and deemed off limits unless we come up with something more," Jason said, "Kellie's sister Kristina has been getting involved with Shiloh's group, Dawn of Day. Whenever anyone questions her about it, she gets defensive. She seems to be wrapping her whole life into dawn of day. Kellie had asked the Director about his file to see if everything is on the up and up with this guy."

"And someone higher up found out they were digging around," Jackie said, "And told Leon to leave it alone. What else aren't you telling me about him?"

"My ex-wife, Sam, was married to his father under an alias," Jason said.

"As part of the con she ran to run off with rich men's money," Jackie said, "And Shiloh isn't interested in payback for that?"

"He claims he's not," Jason said, "Sam is attending classes and events to check things out and keep a relationship with Kristina."

"Right because she's Kristina's sister through her mother," Jackie said, "And Kellie is Sam's cousin. Now she's married to your brother."

"Technically, they're separated," Jason said.

"Regardless, how do you keep all this straight?" Jackie asked, "Your town certainly has a lot of close family ties. Wait you said technically they're separated. Dare I ask what you mean by technically."

"All I can say is it's part of Sam getting more involved in this Dawn of Day," Jason replied.

"Are you serious?" Jackie said, "They're fake separated so Shiloh thinks your ex-wife is what…vulnerable? That is one of the craziest things I have ever heard. Moving on, is there anyone else in Port Charles Shiloh is connected to?"

"My brother," Jason said, "According to Shiloh, Drew saved his life overseas."

"It seems a little convenient your brother has no memory of this," Jackie said, "But while Shiloh's records may be difficult to get to. We can probably look at your brother's records and see if we can find any connections."

Jason started to move.

"You're not going anywhere," Jackie said, picking up the phone "We're not done yet."

Jackie dialed McGee and put him on the intercom, "Morgan's brother, Andrew Cain, apparently saved Shiloh's life in Afghanistan. See what you can find on him and Garrett in Drew's file."

"I'm on it," McGee said, "Unfortunately, the flight plan Garrett filed for Wyoming was bogus. He could be anywhere. We'll try every air field we can. But it could take a while with no direction. Morgan, wouldn't have any ideas would he?"

"None," Jason said, taking a deep breathe, visibly angry and upset.

"By the way, your friend the Jackal is quite the technology expert," McGee said.

"We'll talk to you later, McGee," Jackie said, ending the call.

Jason stood up and headed for the door.

"You could go out there, half cocked," Jackie said, "But all you'll end up doing right now is just piss everybody out there off when you try to do things your way."

"My wife is missing," Jason yelled, "And you all expect me to sit here and do nothing."

"Until you can get your emotions and perspective under control," Jackie said, "Yes."

"I'm fine," Jason said, grabbing the door handle, "I'd be better if I could actually go look for Kellie."

"Which you can't do without the information McGee and Mr. Spinelli are looking for," Jackie said.

Jason removed his hand from the door handle.

"You miss your wife and you're scared for her," Jackie said, "This isn't like all the other times Kellie ends up in the line of fire. She's in the hands of the brother of the man who raped her for three days."

"I hate to think what's she's going through," Jason said, "especially if she realizes she actually could be pregnant."

"Wait a second," Jackie said, "Kellie might be pregnant and she has no idea."

"Kellie had already been kidnapped by the time, my mom was able to review her medical records from California," Jason said, "Medical records that indicate her tubes weren't tied like we thought they were."

"In Kellie's mind pregnancy isn't an option for why she's not feeling well and why she passed out when she rescued Alyssa," Jackie said, stunned.

"I just want Kellie and the baby to be okay," Jason said, "Kellie and I weren't ever supposed to be together. When she first came to town and I had to keep her and Sonny in separate corners, she was more like an annoying little sister. I was with Sam and she had Tyler. Even after I came back and realized that my life as I had known it was gone, I never expected to fall in love with her."

"And now you can't imagine what life would look like without her," Jackie said.

"I guess not," Jason said, quietly.

"And what about the baby Kellie could be carrying?" Jackie said.

"It's funny," Jason said, "Kellie wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant. It just wasn't an option. So I never considered the possibility. "

Jackie waited for Jason to continue.

"Not to mention our lives are dangerous," Jason said, "We do everything necessary to make the kids are protected."

"But," Jackie prompted.

"I really hope she's pregnant" Jason said, surprised at how much he was telling Jackie, "And not just because it means she's not dying of cancer, but because I want…I want to have a baby with her."


	20. Chapter 20

"I don't why I'm telling you this," Jason said.

"I know if Kellie were here you'd have this conversation with her" Jackie said, "But I'm happy to listen and it's kind of my job to listen to people talk about their feelings."

"You were interrogating me this entire time," Jason realized.

"Sorry," Jackie said, "I promise I won't tell anyone you talked. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation. Not to mention some of my colleagues would never let you live it down."

"I guess should thank the director for sticking me with you," Jason said.

"You're good for her," Jackie said, "I knew that when she talked to you on the phone last year, but listening to you talk about how unexpected your relationship with Kellie ended up being. She's good for you too."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked as they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Exactly what I said," Jackie said as Jason moved back from the door and let her answer it.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your chat with Mr. Morgan here," Ducky said when she opened the door, "But the Director would like to see you."

"We were just about done," Jackie said, "Would you mind keeping him company until I can get back?"

"Not at all?" Ducky said, taking a seat.

"You mean I can't leave yet," Jason said.

"Nope," Jackie said, walking out the door and shutting it.

Ducky watched Jason eye the door.

"Is your friend Ms. Janelle Benson enjoying her current accommodations?" Ducky asked.

"I guess so," Jason said, "I don't know if I ever thanked you for your assistance in getting the Zachary Grant murder reopened."

"You're welcome," Ducky said, "I have to admit that is one of the more scintillating cover-ups and murders I've run across. It reminded of this one case…but you don't care about."

"Not really," Jason said, "No offense."

"None taken," Ducky said as Jason paced the room, "I'd imagine you have more important things on your mind."

"Can you get the director to let me go?" Jason asked.

"One would think an alleged hitman of your caliber would have a lot more patience," Ducky said.

"I'll just see myself out," Jason said, turning back towards the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ducky said.

"Why not?" Jason said.

"I'm really not supposed to tell you this," Ducky said, "But the director needs to know if you can follow directions. We are part of the Navy after all. So if you walk out that door without waiting for the Director or someone to tell you that you can leave, you won't get any access to the search. Considering they just recruited your tech friend to help."

"I won't have tech support on my own," Jason groaned.

"You won't even be allowed to contact him or he you," Ducky said, "Not until

"I'm beginning to think I made a mistake in coming here," Jason said, pacing.

"We both know that's most likely not true, Mr. Morgan," Ducky said, "But I can't help but wonder if your agitation has less to do with us and more to do with yourself."

Jason glared at Ducky.

"The glare doesn't hide the guilt you're struggling with," Ducky said, "Guilt and regret is a funny thing. Even the best intentions can't always make it go away."

"Gibbs already gave me an earful about Kellie's stepmom not having guards and that I wasn't with Kellie because of that," Jason said, "I don't need it from anyone else."

"I wasn't referring to anything specific," Ducky said, "So what makes you think I was referring to last night. I could have been referring to anything. But since you brought it up, I can't imagine the choice to rescue Carly while your wife was sick and step daughter missing was an easy one."

"No," Jason said, "I don't know that there was an option that ended with everyone safe. I keep trying to think about what could have been differently."

"Spoken like a man being pulled in too many directions," Ducky said, "Tell me something Mr. Morgan, did Kellie ask to you stay at any point during last nights chaos and mayhem."

"She told me to go save Carly," Jason said, "Even when she was checking herself out of the hospital to go find Alyssa."

"As I thought was the case, knowing Kellie," Ducky said, "But if she had asked?"

"I don't know what I would have done," Jason said.

"What did you want to do last night?" Ducky asked.

"i wanted to stay with Kellie," Jason said, "But Carly was in more immediate danger."

"That begs the question," Ducky said, "What do you do going forward? How do you show up for Kellie even when she doesn't ask when your attention is being demanded urgently elsewhere? How do you keep yourself from being torn in two?"

**The Quartermaine Mansion**

Spencer made his way upstairs to the room Jared and Jamie use when they spend the night.

"Are you two ready to go," Spencer said, looking at Jared and Jamie wearing jeans, baggy hooded sweatshirts and baseball caps meant to disguise themselves. Jamie was sporting a pair of sunglasses.

"The sunglasses are over the top for March," Spencer said, yanking them off Jamie.

"I figured a ski mask to hide my face would attract attention," Jamie said.

"How is Alyssa?" Jared asked.

"She was sleeping when I left her last night. Your grandfather kicked me out," Spencer said, "And called my grandmother to come get me. Since you two insisted I come take you to see Alyssa, I don't know yet. We need to get going while the house is still clear."

The three of them made their way down the back stairs as Spencer kept an eye out for any adult who might stop them.

"No sign of Cook," Spencer said before they made their way through the kitchen.

"And where do you boys think you're off to," Alice said from behind them.

"A stroll in the gardens," Jamie said, imitating Spencer's manner.

"And I'm the queen of England." Alice said, "I figured you boys might try something."

"Try what?" Jared asked, "We were simply on our way to the gardens."

"In Oscar's sweatshirts," Alice asked.

"Oscar said we should make sure," Jared started but was interrupted by Spencer's groaning.

"I thought you two would be better at this," Spencer said, "And take after your mom."

"All things considered, they'll grow into it, I"m sure," Alice said under her breathe.

"Asking an adult to just go see your sister would have been a better plan," Ned said, "You two don't need to be sneaking off.

"Is Nana Olivia around? Can she take us?" Jared asked.

"She stayed the night at the hospital with your sister," Ned said, "Along with your grandfather."

The boys groaned.

"You two," Ned said, "put clothes on that are yours. In the meantime, I'll call to see how Alyssa is. Then we can discuss a visit to the hospital."

"We have to see Uncle Lo," Jamie said as the boys ran like tornados upstairs.

"And Francis," Jared yelled.

They almost ran Monica over.

"Sorry," They yelled.

Monica found Ned downstairs.

"It certainly is never dull when Jared and Jamie show up. I can just hear Edward calling them "hooligans" if he were around to see this." Monica said.

"That he would," Ned said.

"Why are they wearing Oscar's sweatshirts?" Monica asked.

"They thought with Spencer's help they'd sneak off to visit their sister," Ned said.

"Since you seem to things covered," Spencer said, "I think I'll just be going."

"Spencer, the next time your cousins ask you to sneak them out," Monica said, "Tell them no so they don't get themselves in trouble. We don't need that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Spencer said, bolting out of the living room.

"Do we even know if Alyssa's up for a visit?" Monica asked.

"That would be my next order of business," Ned said, grabbing his phone and dialing a Olivia.

"Did she spend the night?" Monica asked. Ned nodded.

"Hi Olivia," Ned asked, "How are you….Jared and Jamie have already tried to sneak off to see their sister. How is she and would the boys be able to come see her…. I'll will let them know. I'll see you soon, love you."

"So…" Monica asked.

"Alyssa is much calmer today," Ned said, "She's still traumatized. It sounds like she can go home sometime this morning. Charles is working with the doctors on that. I'd say the boys can wait for her to be released to see her."

Monica thought for a moment, "Considering that Charles spent last night at the hospital, I'm going to suggest he bring Alyssa here. She and the boys could stay here for a few days at least. I'd imagine if they go home, they'll be reminded their mom is missing a whole lot more, especially with Jason gone too."

"I'm sure Charles will appreciate a break," Ned said, "But are you sure with everything with Oscar."

"Charles and your wife are running on fumes most likely," Monica said, "Jason's off trying to find Kellie and Sonny and Carly are god knows where right now. The truth is between Michael, Olivia, and Jason, those hooligans and their sister are family."

"And we take care of our family," Ned said.

"Besides Olivia would probably suggest it," Monica said, "This way I can at least say I thought of it first."

"And I was almost going to nominate you for sainthood, Monica," Ned teased.


	21. Chapter 21

**Port Charles**

Maxie called Nina, "Do you know what's up with Liesl? She was supposed baby sit James earlier today. She didn't show up and when I texted her, she replied back something being called away to an unexpected emergency overseas. Thankfully my mom was able to cover. "

"It is my Aunt Liesel," Nina said, "Who knows what could happen with her that she could up and disappear."

"With no warning when she's supposed to watch James?" Maxie said.

"You're right," Nina said, "She's at least tell you she couldn't watch James under most circumstances. Do you want to meet me at her apartment and see if we can find anything?"

"I'll be there in 20 minutes," Maxie said.

**NCIS**

Jason didn't respond to Ducky's question, but instead pulled out his phone and made a call. Over the next few minutes he spoke to Max about the guards and security situation for Carly and Avery.

"Mrs. C isn't going to like this," Max said, "I don't know that Sonny will go for this."

"I'll take care of Sonny," Jason said, "And Carly is going to have to live with it."

"I'm telling Carly to take it up with you when she complains about having guards again," Max said, "Although between you and me, the security should never have been this lax in the first place."

"That's why I'm taking care of it," Jason said.

"But if Sonny or Carly ask," Max said, "I never said a word. Have you had any luck finding Kellie yet?"

"NCIS has recruited Spinelli," Jason said, "I'm currently sitting in the forensic psychologists office."

"Hang in there," Max said, "I'm getting another call."

"Just take care of the guard thing," Jason said before they ended the call.

"I think we should see what Casey is up to in the lab," Ducky said, choosing to let the matter go and move on to other things, "Last I heard they were having her look through Drew's files."

"I thought I was supposed to stay here," Jason said.

"Did I forget to mention the Director gave me permission to escort you around?" Ducky said, headed for the door, "Must have slipped my mind."

Jason looked skeptical but followed Ducky out the door.

Up in Casey's lab, they found Gibbs getting an update. Neither Gibbs nor Jason said a word to the others.

Casey was pulling up photos on the screens, "Looking through Drew's files we confirmed Shank's story…"

"Shank?" Gibbs asked.

"Shiloh, Hank. I just combined his real name with his...nevermind….moving on. ," Casey said, seeing Gibbs and Jason's annoyance, "Drew Cain did save his life in an I.E.D. attack. However, I think you'll find these images even more interesting."

Casey pulled up a photo showing Garrett with an unidentified man.

"This looks like surveillance footage," Gibbs said, "Can we tie it to a case? Who is this man and why are these photos in Drew's file, not a case file?"

"These were listed as among his personal effects," Casey said, "I'm running facial recognition on the man. But there's more."

Casey pulled up another photo showing Shiloh and Garrett together in the middle east.

"We have a connection," Gibbs said, "That should get us the file. Send that photo to Leon. Send the remaining photos to McGee and names if you get it's on the facial recognition. Show Morgan here the rest of the photos. See if he happens to recognize anybody else. "

Gibbs walked out of the room. Casey swiped to the next photo which showed Garrett and two other men holding a woman against her will.

"Hold on," Jason said before Casey could move to the next photo. Jason looked at the photo.

"Do you recognize the woman?" Ducky asked.

"Her name is Dr. Liesl Obrecht," Jason said.

"From the looks of that photo," Casey said, "I don't think she wanted to be there."

**Port Charles**

Maxie was pulling into the parking lot of Obrecht's apartment complex when Jason called.

"Jason," Maxie answered confused.

"Has your mother-in-law ever mentioned anything about knowing Garrett Esoterra?" Jason asked.

"No, why?" Maxie said, "I know Liesl has run with a lot of creeps, but this Garrett would be over the top even for her. She hid her own kids with Faison from him."

"NCIS found photos that show Obrecht and Garrett knew each other in the middle east," Jason said.

"Kellie's creepy stalker Garrett," Maxie said, "Liesl has never mentioned having any kind of connection to him. But I doubt she'd advertise that."

"Can you arrange for me to talk to her?" Jason asked.

"I would except," Maxie said, "But she apparently left town."

"What do you mean apparently left town?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Maxie said as Nina was waving at the window, "Just that she didn't show up to watch James and her last text said she had an overseas emergency. Nina and I just got to her apartment complex to check things out."

"Have you gone in the apartment yet?" Jason asked.

"No," Maxie said.

"Call the cops," Jason said, "Have them check it out. Will you let me know what they find."

"Of course," Maxie said, "Should I be concerned?"

"I don't know," Jason said.

Down in the bullpen, Gibbs barked at Jason when he and Ducky appeared, "Casey said you know someone else in one of the photos."

"Good luck," Ducky said to Jason, leaving, "Not that you'll need it."

"Liesl Obrecht," Jason said.

"Bishop," Gibbs said, "Call the Port Charles Police Department to have her brought in for questioning."

Jason shook his head.

"Not your call, Morgan," Gibbs said.

"I talked to her daughter-in-law, Maxie Jones," Jason said, "Maxie said Liesl left town unexpectedly. Maxie was just about to check out her apartment when I called. I told Maxie to call the cops instead. Maxie said she'd call back and let me know what they find."

"She picked a convenient time to disappear," Gibbs said, "Right when we'd need to question her about this case. "

"FBi just called," McGee said, "They tracked Garrett's plane to an airfield in Georgia not too far from Florida."

"He took her into Florida," Jason said.

"What makes you say that?" McGee asked.

"That's where Kellie grew up," Jason said, "And where she met his brother."

"So he would take her back there to what play mind games with with her," Torres replied.

"Exactly," Jason said as his phone rang.

"Maxie," Jason answered.

"What the hell are you doing telling Max to put a guard on me," Carly said, "Sonny and I haven't needed guards as much as we used to.

"I don't have time to discuss this now," Jason said, "But if you had a guard with you maybe Ryan wouldn't have kidnapped you and maybe I could have gone after Alyssa instead of Kellie. I got to go the call I've been waiting for is coming in. Right now you have a guard. We can talk when after I find Kellie."

Gibbs resisted the urge to crack a smile at the conversation.

Jason hung up and took Maxie's call.

"So there were differently signs of a struggle," Maxie said, "The police are treating it as a potential kidnapping."

As Jason finished the call with Maxie, Torres looked up from his computer.

"Casey just got a hit on the person with Garrett in the photos," He said, "He is Ilya Petrov, a Russian businessman with former ties to the Karpov organization."

"Alexei Karpov?" Jason asked.

"He a friend of yours," Gibbs asked.

"We crossed paths with him years ago," Jason said, "He wanted to do business with Sonny."

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

"It didn't work out," Jason said.

"Well this Petrov and Karpov had a falling out years ago," Torres said, "Some kind of disagreement on how to run the organization. Huh…Petrov doesn't appear to run a typical mob organization. He has holdings and groups in the middle east and Russia doing community service outreach type things and people involved all live together."

"That sounds like what Shiloh's doing in Port Charles," Jason said.

"Does this Shiloh have an inner circle or trust of people he trusts more than others?" Torres asks.

"From the way Kristina has talked," Jason said, "I think that might be the deal."

"You realize Kellie's sister is in a cult right?" Bishop said, "From everything I'm looking at this reeks of a cult. Classes said to provide guidance and enlightenment to the vulnerable and hurting all taught by one single charismatic leader. The group in Beecher's Corner definitely doesn't like outsiders. Has Kristina paid money to this shiloh for classes?"

"She borrowed money from her brother to pay for the classes," Jason said.

"She had to borrow money for classes," Bishop asked, "How expensive are these classes?"

"College tuition expensive," Jason said, "Michael thought the money was for classes the university."

"It gets worse," Torres said, "According to the WSB records, this Ilya is rumored to blackmailing his members into staying and the woman into sleeping with him. Is there anything indication of that with Shiloh?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Jason said.

"It's another sex cult?" McGee said.

"What do you mean another?" Jason asked.

"Haven't you seen the news?" McGee said, "There's been a massive investigation into one out of New York, there's even celebrity names involved."

**General Hospital**

Alexis stopped by Lorenzo's hospital room.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Alexis said, "And to let you know I'm relieved for our daughter's sake that you'll be alright."

Lorenzo wanted to communicate, but struggled to.

Instead he just smirked at Alexis.

"Are you seriously smirking at me?" Alexis said, "You are insufferable. Now if you'll excuse me… I'll just be going."

Alexis left the room in a huff.

Lorenzo relaxed, realizing he'd need help with his recovery process. He had no shame in using that and Alexis's confession she needed him to his advantage if it would give him an opportunity to change Alexis's mind about their relationship.

**The Cabin - Florida**

Over the next couple of days, Obrecht got Kellie hydrated and on anti nausea medication. She also kept her lightly sedated until Kellie was well enough to function, seeing her struggle with nightmares. Orbrecht eased off the sedative allowing Kellie to wake up.

Kellie woke up, feeling relatively normal. She realized she was still in the cabin and she was hooked up to an iv.

She sat up slowly and found her jeans sitting uncomfortably tight against her skin.

Kellie moved the covers down and unbuttoned her jeans and unzipped them.

"That's not possible," Kellie said to herself, noting her belly was starting to round outwards like it had when she'd been pregnant before.


	22. Chapter 22

"I've officially lost it," Kellie said to herself, "Between the havoc Garrett's already caused, finding myself in this cabin of all cabins, and being sick with what's probably ovarian cancer, I'm completely losing my mind. I'm actually starting to consider that I could be pregnant when I know it's not possible."

"Oh please," Obrecht said, nonchalantly reading an old magazine on the couch, "You've been banging Jason Morgan for how long now? It can't possibly surprise you that would wind up carrying his brat?"

"Oh god, you are really here," Kellie said, startled, "My tubes are tied. Have been for years. Which leaves me with ovarian cancer as a likely diagnosis according to the doctors."

"Symptoms?" Obrecht asked.

"Wicked Nausea, Fatigue, no period for three months," Kellie said, "lightheadedness. And yes the doctors determined what ever hormone would typically indicate pregnancy is elevated. But all my symptoms could be attributed to…

"You my insipid girl," Obrecht interrupted, "Are too young for ovarian cancer. You are most definitely with child. So obviously your tubes weren't tied correctly if at all. If you really did have ovarian cancer a saline drip to rehydrate you and anti-nausea medication wouldn't have been much help to you at this point."

"If the procedure was botched, then I should have found out when Tyler was still alive," Kellie said.

"Oh yes, your dead husband, who mostly likely had been rendered infertile by his illness and treatments," Obrecht replied, "I thought you would have more brains than this. But you are proving to be as disappointing as well most everyone else. Did you even have a doctor other than the one who was supposed to perform the procedure confirm that it was actually done?"

"No," Kellie said, "The thought that my doctor would screw it up or not do it never would have crossed my mind. It wouldn't cross most people's minds."

Obrecht looked annoyed, "Then you don't even know if the procedure was actually done or not."

"But the doctors," Kellie started to say.

"Can be idiots," Obrecht said, setting her magazine down and getting off the couch, "You know your own body better than any doctor. Though your intelligence certainly isn't living up to its reputation, I'll have to assume it's pregnancy brain. Never mind that, what do your instincts tell you about your condition?"

Kellie didn't answer at first.

"That I'm pregnant," Kellie said, hesitantly, "But it doesn't make any sense."

"You'll get over it I suppose," Obrecht said. "I should inform you your captor seems to think you might have an IUD which could be problematic for you and the child."

"How the hell would Garrett know anything about this?" Kellie said, backing away from Obrecht "How are you involved in all of this?"

"Quite unwillingly, I assure you," Obrecht said, "I was having a nice quiet evening in my apartment when this thug forcefully took me and brought me here."

"Why should I believe you?" Kellie said.

"I have no use for for Garrett's type," Obrecht said, looking disgusted, "I may have done one or two horrible things, but helping with that is inhumane. As for how he knows about your condition, I have no idea."

"He picked you to treat me because?" Kellie asked.

"Heaven knows why but I seem to be Garrett's doctor of choice to kidnap when he needs medical treatment," Obrecht answered, I'd hoped that time in the middle east was the only time."

"You disappear all the time and have a penchant for skating into questionable activities,," Kellie said, "He'd bank on no one asking questions if you went missing."

"I was supposed to watch James," Obrecht said, "I'm sure Maxie and Nina have people looking for me."

"Let's hope so. The more people trying to find us the better," Kellie said, "What is this about an IUD?"

"Just that Garrett seems to think you may have one," Obrecht said, "I should tell you that the pregnancy may not be viable if there is one. Your life could be at risk as well."

"We have to get out of here," Kellie said, "I can't…..I can't lose another child if there is one in this cabin."

"What do you mean another?" Obrecht said.

"i miscarried when Ethan beat and raped me here," Kellie said, willing herself to hold it together, "Now I might be pregnant in the same damn cabin and…."

"Then I suggest we come up with a plan for getting out of here," Obrecht said, "Unless you plan on panicking while waiting for Jason to rescue you."

"I never assume anyone else will come rescue me," Kellie said, looking around the room, "The curtains weren't here when I first got here."

"I convinced our captors they were necessary to keep you from being agitated," Obrecht answered, "That his guards looking in made you violent and that wasn't good for the baby. My apologies for having to sedate you. You weren't exactly the most cooperative patient with what I assume were nightmares."

"I feel better now so I can't complain. In the meantime, they have no idea what we're actually doing in here," Kellie said, "Provided they haven't bugged the place or have a camera."

"There isn't," Obrecht said, "I tested the theory."

"How many guards are there?" Kellie asked.

"Two," Obrecht said.

"I hope you have more of the sedatives that you were giving me," Kellie said.

"More than enough to ensure the guards have a nice long nap," Obrecht said.

"Hand me a needle or syringe," Kellie said, "and a rubber band or a hair tie if you have it."

"I fail to see how either of those items will help in your hands at this moment," Obrecht said.

"I can use the needle pick the lock on this shackle," Kellie said.

"You can do that?" Obrecht replied.

"It's child's play," Kellie said, "Is there anything flammable, anything from matches to paint thinner in this cabin?"

"I did find matches by the fire places, Obrecht said, "But nothing else."

"You'd be surprised," Kellie said, "What supplies do you have and are in the cabin?"

Obrecht ran through a list items in her bag and in the cabin including hand sanitizer, flour and bacon.

"Hand sanitizer has alcohol in it which is flammable along with bacon grease," Kellie said, "Flour has been known to help feed a fire as well."

"The WSB must have taught you that," Obrecht said, "But what exactly are you planning to burn."

"This cabin," Kellie said.

"Are you insane?" Obrecht asked.

"Unless you have a cell phone and service," Kellie said, "I highly doubt we have another way of attracting the authorities attention. We're in the middle of almost nowhere with a long walk out of here. Even if we find someone nearby, who knows if we can trust them. But the cabin could send up a giant smoke signal to attract law enforcement and other emergency personnel."

"Reduce the chance of us being caught by the enemy," Obrecht said, "it could work."

"We'll light the front of the cabin on fire to district the guards and climb out a window in the back," Kellie said, "If one comes after us, we inject them with the sedatives."

"And where exactly does the rubber band or hair tie you asked for fit in to this plan of yours?" Obrecht asked.

"Nowhere," Kellie said.

"Then why ask for it?" Obrecht asked.

"I just need it. Do you really have to know why?" Kellie asked.

"Yes," Obrecht said, "Do you want it or not?"

"Fine," Kellie said, exasperated, "While I can probably button my jeans back up as they are, it certainly won't be comfortable and if you're right it's just going to get worse, so if you have something, please hand it over."

"Since you said please," Obrecht said, going over to the drawers in the kitchen area and grabbing a rubber band.

Obrecht held the rubber band just out of Kellie's reach, "One more thing, is burning down the cabin really necessary? We could just sedate the guards and run."

"Yes," Kellie said a little too quickly.

"Why do I get the feeling you just want to legally commit arson with this cabin," Obrecht said.

"If you had my history with this cabin," Kellie said, "wouldn't you want to burn it down."

"And people think I'm a piece of work. But fair enough," Obrecht said, handing Kellie the rubber band, "Make no mistake I will hold you personally responsible if this goes wrong."

**NCIS**

Meanwhile Jason, Gibbs, and the rest of the team at NCIS had been able to discover Garrett worked with Ilya who had multiple branches of his community outreach cult in the middle east and Russia. These locations also served as a front for trafficking people through.

"That should get us Shiloh's file then, right Director," McGee said in the bullpen.

"No dice," Leon said, "Sec Nav says with out hard evidence, we have no cause to get the file. A picture of Shiloh with Garrett and Shiloh having an organization similar to Petrov isn't getting us anywhere. Currently, Dawn of Day on the surface appears to be what it is, a community outreach organization."

"But if it looks like a cult and smells like a cult," Gibbs said.

"We're still looking," Leon said, "The FBI and IRS are interested in Shiloh's finances. His father disinherited him, so the questions remains how is he funding this little enterprise. What's the latest on the search for Kellie?"

"McGee and the Jackal geek are looking for properties Garrett may own in Florida," Gibbs said, "But it's taking time given we have to look through shell companies and figure out who the owners are."

Spinelli who had flown out to assist uninvited came running frantically from Casey's lab into the room, "The despicable one bought the cabin where Wonder Woman was violated by his dastardly sibling."

"How many times do I have to tell you use english," Gibbs said, smacking Spinelli upside the head.

"Garrett bought the cabin his brother took Kellie to years ago," Jason said, "It is in Florida."

"Bishop," Gibbs said, "Call the authorities in Florida. Jackal get me an address."

"Done before I came running down here," Spinelli said.

Jason was on the phone calling Roy DeLucca filling him in on the situation, "I'm heading down and NCIS has already let the authorities know."

"We'll send our men out to look for her," Roy said.

"Liesl Obrecht might be with her," Jason said.

"Where's Sloane?" Gibbs asked, "Torres, tell her to meet me at the airport."

"Where do you think you two are going?" Leon asked.

"To make sure we get Garrett this time and coordinate the search from Florida," Gibbs said, "Kellie and Sloane are friends, she might need a familiar face."

"Permission to go granted," Leon said, "Morgan you can fly down with Gibbs and Sloane."

"Thank you," Jason said.

"I'm coming too," Spinelli said.

Gibbs groaned, "Absolutely not. He does not have any kind of training to be in the field."

"He's coming with us," Jason said, "We might need his tech support."

"He can do that from here," Gibbs said.

"He's going," Leon said, "Now quit wasting time and go bring Kellie home."


	23. Chapter 23

Kellie and Obrecht waited until nightfall to put their plan into motion and take advantage of the darkness to provide cover from Garrett's men. In the meantime, Roy De Lucca and his men along with law enforcement had been scouting out the route and area surrounding the cabin for Garrett or his men as they proceeded closer and closer. Sloane and Spinelli were at the base camp coordinating the search. Gibbs and Jason were in a helicopter flying above the area.

Gibbs and Jason appeared to have an unspoken agreement not to speak to each other unless absolutely necessary.

"Look over there," Jason said towards a plume of smoke.

"Head North," Gibbs said to the pilot.

The pilot took them closer.

"That's not just campfire smoke," Gibbs said, "Something is definitely on fire."

Gibbs radioed in an update to the base there was a fire and to send the fire department in.

They flew over the fire to get coordinates to relay to the team.

"That's the cabin," Jason said, seeing at least half the cabin completely engulfed in flames and the fire spreading to the other half, "We have to get down there now."

"Get us close as you can," Gibbs said, getting up and grabbing the rescue ladder, "We're going down to the ground."

Jason called Roy to let him know about the fire.

"We got the message from Spinelli," Roy said, "We're still ten minutes away. That cabin is not easy to find."

"We're having the pilot drop us off on the ground," Jason said.

"Morgan, are you going to keep chit chatting or come look for your wife?" Gibbs barked, the ladder ready for them to make their way to the ground.

Garrett was making his way to the cabin, avoiding the search parties, he'd been tipped off about. He found the guards fleeing from the cabin.

"What the hell are you doing?," Garrett yelled.

"That cabin went up in flames," one of the guards said, "There's no way anyone could survive that."

"You need to go in and get…" Garrett started to yell but the guards took off running.

Inside the cabin, Kellie and Obrecht headed to the back of the cabin. Obrecht threw the shackle at a window on one side of the cabin breaking it to distract the guards if they should investigate while Kellie picked the lock on the back door.

The smoke was starting to get to them as Kellie picked the lock with a needle.

"Hurry up," Obrecht said, "Before the smoke kills us."

"What do you think I'm doing," Kellie said as the lock clicked and she shoved the door open.

They coughed as they ran out of the cabin. Kellie and Obrecht made their way to the trees.

"We'll need to find the main road," Kellie said, coughing.

"I think I can help you with that," Gibbs said, approaching them.

Before anyone knew what happened, Kellie, startled, knocked Gibbs to the ground.

Gibbs got up slowly and put his hands in the air, "Easy Slinger, I'm here to help. Though it looks like you were already making your escape."

"Gibbs," Kellie replied, "What are you doing here?

"Looking for you and her," Gibbs said, grabbing his gun off the ground, "Law enforcement and some of your Miami boys are making their way up the road."

Gibbs grabbed his radio, "Morgan, I found your girl. Sloane, send paramedics up the road. Kellie and Obrecht will need to be treated for smoke inhalation."

"Wait Jason's here?" Kellie asked.

"Right behind you," Jason said, gently so as not to startle her.

"Jason," Kellie said, turning around and throwing herself at him. Jason wrapped his arms around her.

"You're safe," Jason whispered in her ear before kissing her.

"There are other people subject to your public displays of affection," Obrecht said, "Do you mind?"

Kellie tried to speak to Jason, ignoring Obrecht, but coughed instead.

"I got you," Jason said, "Whatever you need to say can wait."

Jason pulled her against him and she relaxed her head on his chest.

"Has there been any sign of Garrett?" Gibbs asked Obrecht.

"Haven't seen him for several days," Obrecht said.

"His lackeys I'm sure he left here?" Gibbs asked.

"No sign," Obrecht said, "Although we were prepared to subdue them if necessary."

I bet you were," Gibbs said, "And the fire?"

"Kellie claims it was necessary as a smoke signal and distraction," Obrecht said.

"She's not totally wrong," Gibbs said, trying to stay serious about the matter.

"I'm sure my smoke inhalation is more of an annoyance," Obrecht said, "I think I'll just be going."

"Not so fast," Gibbs said, "I have some questions for you regarding Garrett. Your previous association with him has not gone unnoticed. Though you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I'm quite certain that our paths haven't crossed previously," Obrecht said.

"You resemble this Russian hooker from a case year's ago. But she's six feet under," Gibbs said, "So I guess not."

Sirens wailed in the distance.

"Come on," Gibbs said, "Looks like the calvary is here."

"They're too late," Garrett said, heading towards Kellie.

Jason put himself between Kellie and Garrett, drawing his gun. In the process, Kellie drew Jason's other side arm and Garrett found was face to face the ends of both guns. His hand inches away from his own gun.

Gibbs had also drawn his gun, "I wouldn't even think about it. Hands up, Esoterra."

"I'd think twice about letting them take me, Liesl," Garrett said, "One phone call and your grandson disappears."

Jason moved his gun towards Obrecht.

"That's going to be pretty hard to do when your entire operation is shut down," Gibbs said, "Oh yeah, we found out about all of it overseas, the connection to Petrov and how you ship humans through his little outposts. You're going away for a long time. Your routes into the United States using Navy Petty officers is gone. Put your hands up"

Garrett was upset, but just laughed as Gibbs read him his rights and cuffed. Kellie looked shocked as Gibbs read off all the charges, but she still held her gun on him. Jason lowered his gun, but still kept an eye on Obrecht.

"You may think you've won," Garrett said, "But I guarantee it's not as over as you think it is."

Kellie moved in front of Jason, moving the gun closer to Garrett.

"Slinger, I get it. He's been terrorizing your family for a long time," Gibbs said, "But trust me when I tell he's going away for even longer. They'll throw away the key when he's locked up."

"You don't want to do this," Jason said, his arm reaching out along Kellie's. He put his hand gently on her arm to encourage her to lower the gun, "I know he had you in that cabin you just escaped, you've been sick, he kidnapped Alyssa twice, and you've got a lot to catch up on, you're scared and confused. But trust me, you've got a lot more to lose than you know. We all do if…"

Kellie looked at Jason and eventually gave him the gun. `

"If she wants to give birth in prison to get rid of this scum," Obrecht quipped, leaving everyone shocked, "Who are we to stop her?"

"Seriously?" Gibbs asked, glaring at Obrecht.

"I was merely joking. What are the odds she'd actually get convicted if she did?" Obrecht said, "Even if you had to do things by the book. I'm sure her father and husband could pay someone off or the charges wouldn't be pursued because she wasn't in her right mental state or some other godfather nonsense. But what do I know?"

Kellie and Jason both looked at each other, neither one quite sure what to say as law enforcement and paramedics arrived on the scene.


	24. Chapter 24

"About Obrecht's comment," Kellie started to way when the paramedics approached. Gibbs was leading Garrett away.

"We got report of possible smoke inhalation," the paramedic interrupted.

"My wife and her," Jason said, pointing to Obrecht. He turned his attention back to Kellie, "Let's get you checked out. Then we'll talk."

"Your husband's right, miss," The paramedic said, "We really should give you an oxygen mask for a few minutes. The ambulance is not that far away."

Obrecht didn't hesitate to head to the aid cars.

"She's in shock," the paramedic said, noting Kellie's goosebumps. He handed her the emergency blanket he was holding.

Kellie wrapped the blanket around her shoulder.

"If you don't start walking" Jason said, urging Kellie in the direction of the aid car, "I'm going to have to carry you."

"I have so many questions right now, Jason," Kellie said.

"I know," Jason said, "I'll answer them. But we have to focus on one thing at a time. Right now that's letting the paramedics check you out and take you to the hospital."

Kellie finally headed in the direction of the aid car. Jason wrapping his arm around her and going with her.

As one paramedic helped Kellie to sit on the side of the gurney and handed her an oxygen mask, Jason spoke to his partner off to the side.

"So my wife might actually be pregnant and she doesn't know that she could even get pregnant," Jason said as the medic looked perplexed, "It's a long complicated story. I still have to tell her that. Before she was taken, the operating assumption until further tests could be done was ovarian cancer. We need to get to a hospital and figure that out and if she has an IUD."

"We'll take good care of your wife," the medic said, "But you probably want to tell her this before we get her to the hospital. Come on."

The medic and Jason walked back to Kellie, the shock wearing off. Her face was tear stained as relief and her emotions caught up with her. Exhaustion was also starting to set in between the adrenaline fading and being awake late into the evening. The medic proceeded to ask Kellie questions about pain, cramping, bleeding, injuries. Kellie responded she had none except bruising from when Garrett knocked her around a few days ago.

The medic then took his partner off to the side to give Jason and Kellie a moment alone.

Jason sat next to Kellie, wiping a few stray tears from her face.

"Where do you want to start?" Jason asked.

"Alyssa is she okay?" Kellie asked.

"Not quite, but she will be," Jason said, "Apparently, on the car ride from the school to the docks, Garrett roamed his hands all over her body. That appears to be the extent of it. They had to sedate her when she got to the hospital. She was inconsolable. But she's been doing better, but she's got a long way to go. She and the boys having been staying at the Quartermaines."

"Dammit," Kellie said.

"You did everything you could," Jason said.

"And Francis and Uncle Lo?" Kellie asked.

"Francis came through surgery alright," Jason said, "Lorenzo, he has a long recovery ahead of him. The bullet caused brain damage. He has impaired speech and mobility. He'll likely stay in a rehab center for quite awhile."

Kellie didn't respond, mulling over what to say next. Her attention was caught by the sound of the roof collapsing in on the cabin. The fireman were letting cabin burn to the ground and controlling the burn.

"You always did want to burn that cabin to ground," Jason whispered in her ear.

Kellie leaned against Jason, "After this, I was definitely going to buy it and burn it if the opportunity to use it to get help hadn't been available."

Kellie continue to watched the cabin burn and walls and framing falling in.

The medics came, but Jason told them to hold off a few more minutes, knowing Kellie needed to watch the cabin burn a little bit longer.

When the cabin had collapsed as much it was going to, Jason looked at Kellie to start telling her everything. He found she'd fallen asleep against him, exhaustion finally catching up with her.

Jason kissed her forehead before moving Kellie to lay her on the gurner and motioned for the paramedics to come back over and head to the hospital.

**Turkey**

Sonny and Robert had rescued Dante from Raj and were on the plane headed back to the states when Robert got an update Kellie.

"We just got word from NCIS, Kellie's been found," Robert said, "and they have Garrett in custody."

"How is she?" Dante asked.

"Smoke inhalation is a known concern," Robert said, "Anything else is pending her getting checked out at the hospital."

"Where did he have her? Sonny asked.

"A cabin outside Miami," Robert said, "Which Kellie and Liesl Obrecht burned down in their escape."

"Obrecht?" Sonny asked, "How is she involved in this?"

"i don't know anything more than that at this point," Robert said, "Just basics. This is Liesl Obrecht we're talking about. What doesn't she end up involved in?"

"Why would he take her to a cabin outside Miami?" Dante asked.

"It's the cabin his brother took her to isn't it?" Sonny asked, grimacing.

"That's the rumor," Robert said.

"The bastard," Sonny said, "When I get….."

He stopped himself.

"Please go ahead and finish that sentence," Robert said, smirking.

"No," Sonny said, "I need to call Jason. Is there anyway you can contact him for me?"

"Sure," Robert said and asked the attendant for the satellite phone.

Jason was waiting for the doctor to complete his initial examination of Kellie at the hospital when he got Sonny's call.

"Hello," Jason answered not recognizing the number.

"Jason," Sonny said, "Dante and I are on our way back to the states. But we heard Garrett kidnapped Kellie, but she's been rescued. Are you with her? Is she okay?"

"We're at the hospital," Jason said, "The Doctor is checking out now. She'll a few tests before she can leave."

"Is it true he held in the cabin where …" Sonny asked.

"He did," Jason said.

"Did he ummm..?" Sonny said, "Please tell me the bastard didn't.."

"He didn't," Jason said.

"How the hell did this happen?" Sonny asked.

Jason spent several minutes explaining Valentine's suspected involvement, Garrett's reapparance, Alyssa's kidnapping and rescue, and Kellie's abduction.

"How did Garrett get the better of her?" Sonny asked.

"Kellie's been sick," Jason said, "She was at GH waiting for some tests when Garrett took Alyssa."

"How sick is my daughter?" Sonny asked.

"We'll find out soon," Jason said, as the nurse let him know he could go into Kellie's room, "It's little complicated and I need to fill Kellie in on a few things she missed when took off after Alyssa. In fact, they're letting me in the room with her now. I'll call you later and fill you in."

"Jason," Sonny said as Jason hung up, "Just fill me in now."

"What'd he say?" Dante asked.

"The doctors are going to run tests," Sonny said, "I guess Kellie was sick before everything happened."

"Sick with what?" Dante asked.

"Jason wouldn't say," Sonny replied.


	25. Chapter 25

"What else did Jason have to say?" Robert asked.

"Kellie's safe and was not raped," Sonny said, "Garrett resurfaced. They suspect Valentine Cassadine had something do to with the disappearance from the airport. Garrett kidnapped Alyssa while Jason was rescuing Carly from Ryan Chamberlain. Kellie and Alcazar went to find Alyssa at the docks. Alcazar was shot. Kellie jumped on the boat and threw Alyssa into the water. Kellie's being sick, couldn't get herself off the boat."

"Sick how?" Dante asked, "Did Jason give you any clue as to how even if he didn't actually say."

"No," Sonny said, "He just said something about it being complicated and Kellie being in the dark about some things."

Sonny tried to call Jason back with no luck.

"What about Spinelli?" Dante asked, "He might know something."

"That might be a good idea," Sonny said, starting to dial the number.

"I'm sure Jason will call you as soon he can to fill you in," Robert said, being ignored by Sonny and Dante, "He might have his hands full with Kellie just being rescued from a pervert and a burning cabin. Not to mention with the way Spinelli talks, the message might come across garbled."

"Spinelli," Sonny said, putting the phone on speaker.

"Mr. Godfather sir," Spinelli said, "Oh my gosh, it's good to hear your voice. Was your mission to find the valiant detective a success?"

"I'm right here, Spinelli," Dante said, "We're on our way back to the states."

"That is the most wonderful news," Spinelli said.

"Spinelli," Sonny said, "What can you tell me about Kellie?"

"I believe Stonecold would be a better source of information seeing as how he is at the hospital with your daughter as we speak," Spinelli said.

"If he was answering my calls," Sonny said, "But he's not, so I'm calling you. I know Kellie's sick "

"I must respectfully out of respect for Wonder Woman's privacy decline to share any information on her condition," Spinelli said.

"So you do know," Sonny said, "I'm worried about my daughter. Spinelli, do I need to be concerned?"

"I couldn't tell you for sure at this time," Spinelli said, "As the doctors don't have a definite diagnosis for Kellie yet. If you would wait patiently for StoneCold to return your call, hopefully he will call with the better diagnosis."

"There's a worse diagnosis," Sonny said.

"Yes, which thanks to what we think were the machinations of Helena Cassadine was the only diagnosis Kellie or anyone was aware of at first," Spinelli said, rambling "But the Valkerie was determined to ferret out the truth and solicited my services to ensure that the better option."

"So Carly knows," Sonny interrupted.

"Well in a matter of speaking," Spinelli said, "But really you should just wait…"

"We'll talk later, Spinelli," Sonny said and hung up.

**Florida**

Kellie was stirring and waking up when Jason came into the hospital room.

"Did I seriously fall asleep?" Kellie said as Jason sat on the bed with her.

"You did," Jason said, "I don't know when the last time you slept was, but in your condition, once the adrenaline wore off, you were probably ready to crash."

"So about my condition," Kellie said, "Umm, I'm not sure…you know what I'm just going to say. I think I might actually be pregnant. I know that sounds really crazy. Because it's not possible and…"

Kellie kept rambling until Jason kissed her when he couldn't get a word in edge wise.

"I ramble like a crazy person about something that makes absolutely no sense and you just kiss me," Kellie said.

"Because you're not crazy," Jason said, "and it's a very real possibility. Monica and Spinelli reviewed your medical records from California. It doesn't appear that your tubes were tied. The doctor put in an IUD instead. Monica thinks it's more likely that you're pregnant than that you have ovarian cancer."

"This is for real," Kellie replied stunned.

"Yeah," Jason said, "Monica thinks the IUD would have become ineffective in the last few years….maybe even when Tyler was alive."

"But the leukemia and the treatments would explain why we didn't find this out then," Kellie said, quietly.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Kellie said, "I want to believe it. But after all the crap that's already happened this week, I'm afraid to get my hopes up that I'm not dying. And even then if there's an IUD, I know could still lose the baby."

"That's why we're going to everything we to make sure that doesn't happen," Jason said, brushing Kellie's hair back and wiping stray tears from her face, "I'd say there's a pretty good chance she or he is every bit as strong as you are."

Kellie half smiled, blushing.

"Wait a second. Garrett knew about the tubes and the IUD," Kellie said, "That's what Obrecht told me. How did he know?"

"I don't know," Jason said, "The only people in Port Charles that knew were Carly, Monica, Charles, and Olivia. I heard Shiloh was sniffing around the hospital when Alyssa was brought in. We found evidence that Garrett and Shiloh crossed paths in the middle east."

"That cannot be a coincidence," Kellie said, "Please tell me Director Vance was finally able to get access to his file now."

"No, his bosses are claiming not enough evidence to unseal the file," Jason said, "All we have is a surveillance photo with Garrett and Shiloh. Assuming Shiloh's organization is a front similar to Garrett's Russian partner is a stretch. Garrett's partner used his groups in the middle east to move women and children. No one could ever find it because it looked completely legitimate or more like a cult or harem."

"Like Dawn of Day," Kellie said.

"Director Vance was going to let the foundation know and she what they also might be able to come up with," Jason said, "And the FBI is looking into Shiloh's finances now at least."

"It doesn't make sense that we can't access that file," Kellie said, "Maybe Spinelli could dig into it along with figuring out why my tubes weren't tied. Which why was Spinelli looking at my medical records?"

"Carly asked him to," Jason said.

"Say no more," Kellie said.

"Charles has theory on why your procedure wasn't done," Jason said, "He thinks Helena was behind it."

Kellie thought about it for minute, "The cigar she left me in her will. We never could figure it out. Let's face it, it's a very Helena Cassadine thing to do. Damn her. That's not anything against having a baby with you damn her, it's a damn her for being the second person to screw with my birth control and choices and…..two of my pregnancies happened because someone else decided I should have a baby."

"You have every right to be angry," Jason said, "I hate that the choice was taken away from you by Carlos and Helena."

"I guess I can get some satisfaction out of the fact that Helena's game didn't play out the way she envisioned I'm sure," Kellie said, half-heartedly.

"The important thing is that you going to be okay and this kid is going to be really lucky to have you as a mother," Jason said, "I know regardless of your feelings about Helena and Carlos and any of that, you'll love her or him as fiercely as you do Jared, Jamie, and Alyssa."

"I hope so," Kellie said, "None of this seems real right now."

They were interrupted with a nurse bringing in an ultrasound machine. She was followed by the doctor.

"Dr. Quartermaine sent us your medical records," the doctor said, "All I can say is that doctor should lose her medical license. But never mind that, let's take a look and get you definite answers."

Jason moved off the bed and sat in the chair next to the bed. Kellie reached out for his hand as the doctor and nurse set up the machine.

Kellie lifted her shirt so the doctor could put the cold gel on her stomach. The doctor had the ultrasound screen turned towards him, away from Jason and Kellie as he moved the wand over her.

"I'd say congratulations are in order," the doctor said, turning the ultrasound screen towards them and pointing out the baby on the screen, "That right there is your son or daughter. This is a rough estimation, but I'd say you're around the end of the first trimester. But I'm sure your doctor back home can give you a better estimation."

"What about an IUD?" Kellie asked.

"I can't find any trace of one," the doctor replied, "If there was one, it was taken out at some point. I know this next part isn't a shock, but if you look up here, you can see your tubes which appear completely unaltered. There are no signs of cancer of any kind. Let's check the baby's heart beat."

After several moments, the sound of a heart beat filled the room.

"After everything, Kellie's been through the last few days," Jason asked, "Are she and the baby healthy? Or is there anything we need to be concerned about?"

"Both appear to have come through this ordeal, relatively unscathed," the doctor said, "The baby's heart beat is normal and everything looks good on the ultrasound. That being said, we are going to keep you for observation until tomorrow."

"Okay," Kellie said, "If everything goes well, I want released first thing in the morning."

"We'll see," the doctor said.

"We'll stay until she gets the all clear to leave," Jason said.

"Do you have any other questions?" The doctor asked.

"Not right now," Kellie said.

"If you have any additional questions," the doctor said, "let the nurses know and they contact me."

"Thank you," Kellie said.

The doctor and nurse finished cleaning up and left Kellie and Jason to themselves.

Jason sat back on the bed next to Kellie.

"You heard the same thing I did right," Kellie said, tears of relief streaming down her face, "No cancer, no IUD. Just a completely unexpected baby."

"Yeah," Jason said, wrapping his arms around Kellie, "You're going to be just fine."


	26. Chapter 26

"I've been wondering" Jason asked, "What made you consider you might be pregnant?"

"My pants don't fit well anymore," Kellie said, "And my belly's starting look like it did when I was pregnant before."

"I can't tell," Jason said, "You don't look. Although I did notice you were using a rubber band to fasten your jeans during the ultrasound."

"Here, give me your hand," Kellie said, taking Jason's hand and putting it under her shirt. She guided his fingers to trace the outline of her belly.

"It's only a slight curve," Kellie said, "So maybe you can't."

"I can feel it," Jason said.

"Oh my gosh, I haven't even asked how you feel about all this?" Kellie said, "Having another kid wasn't supposed to be part of the deal when we started this. A lot of what has happened with me was not what you signed up for when we started doing whatever it is we've been doing."

"Maybe," Jason said, "But I don't regret any of this with you, falling in love with you, marrying you. Sure, another kid wasn't even option as far as either of us knew, she or he is only going to make the life we're building better. When your friend, Sloane, was interrogating me, I realized once the possibility of having a kid was even an option, I wanted that with you. This probably sounds dumb."

"No it doesn't" Kellie said, "I mean I was wishing it was possible when ovarian cancer was the leading candidate. I get it."

"So pray tell what is the new good or bad?" Spinelli interrupted, entering the room "But first.."

Jason stepped out of the way as Spinelli moved to give Kellie a giant bear hug.

"Words cannot express my profound relief that you've been safely rescued," Spinelli said, "Now don't hold me in suspense, are you in fact carrying a StoneCold/Wonder Woman hybrid?"

"Yes, she's pregnant, Spinelli," Jason said.

"This is the best news," Spinelli said, squealing with joy, "A bright spot in an otherwise dismal and …"

"Spinelli, I'm starving," Kellie said, "Could you go to the cafeteria and bring me back a chocolate milk shake and an order of fries."

"Why yes, of course," Spinelli said, " You must be starving after…well. I will make haste and return promptly with your order."

"Spinelli, don't bring her that junk," Jason said. "It's not healthy."

"No, just because I am pregnant doesn't mean you get to start ordering for me," Kellie said, "Before you argue with me about my choice of food, milkshakes have milk in them which has calcium and fries are made from potatoes which are a vegetable."

"She is right," Spinelli said, moving towards the door, "You might want to call Sonny, he was most eager for information on Kellie's condition. He maybe asking Carly for that information as we speak."

"Spinelli heard from my dad?" Kellie asked.

So did I right before I came in here," Jason said, "Dante's with him. I didn't have time to tell him everything before the doctor's gave me the go ahead to come in here."

'"That's good news, Dante's been found.," Kellie said, "Did he say how Dante was?"

"I will ask when I call him back," Jason said, "Is there anything else you need right now?"

"Change of clothes, new guns, and a new cell phone," Kellie said.

"I'll have Spinelli get you a new phone," Jason said, "I will talk to Max about the guns."

"And I've got the new clothes covered," Sloane said, appearing at the door, with several department store bags, "I figured you'd probably want something other the clothes you have been wearing for days on end now."

"Thank you," Kellie said, "If there is a pair of yoga pants in those bags, I will consider you the lifesaver of clothes anyway."

Sloane dug the yoga pants out of the bag and threw them to Kellie, "I thought you might be partial to these. I ran into Spinelli in the hallway. Judging by his delight over the pending arrival of a StoneCold/Wonder Hybrid, I'd say you're definitely in the family way."

"Yes," Kellie said.

"Congratulations to both of you," Sloane said.

"I'm going to go make some calls," Jason said, "Are you alright on your own?"

"I'm good, Jason," Kellie said, "Now go fill my Dad and Dante in on whatever it is they want to know. I'm sure he's tried to call you back a bazillion times by now."

"Five times," Jason said, leaving the room.

"You better let Spinelli through with my food," Kellie said, "And if you see Obrecht tell her thank you for me please or just to come see me."

"Liesl Obrecht's not here," Sloane said, handing Kellie her new clothes, "Gibbs has her for questioning. The paramedics didn't see the need to bring her here. If you want to change clothes, I can wait."

After Kellie had changed, she came out with the clothes she had been wearing tied up in one of the bags.

She tossed the bag to Sloane, "I don't ever want to see these clothes again."

"I will burn them," Sloane said, "How are you doing? I mean really doing."

"Damned if I know, Jackie," Kellie said, "It's not like there's any one or two emotions I'm feeling right now is all of them; relief, anger, hurt, shock, disbelief and I'm sure there's more."

'What you really need is a punching bag right now," Sloane said.

"I'd probably pulverize at least one," Kellie said.

"You're also still in shock," Sloane said, "There's a lot of emotions that are just waiting to just drop on you when you don't expect it."

"Great, and throw in a side of pregnancy hormones," Kellie said, "I'm going to be a hot mess for months, maybe years. I was finally feeling like I was finding my new normal. Now I feel like the ground got pulled out from under me. He took me to the cabin where…Thank god Obrecht was there to piss the hell off out of me. I thought I was going to lose it."

"But you didn't," Sloane said, "You and Obrecht got yourselves out of there. I have to admit burning the cabin to attract attention was pretty ingenius."

"It was pretty spectacular," Kellie said.

"How do you feel about Garrett just going to prison," Sloane asked, "Gibbs mentioned you really wanted to…"

"Wouldn't you?" Kellie replied, "after all that shit he's done."

"Fair enough," Sloane said, "Are you okay with prison as his punishment."

"I have to be," Kellie said, as Spinelli came back with her milkshake and fries.

Out in the hallway, Jason called Sonny back.

"I can't quite believe I'm about to say this, Jason," Sonny answered, "Please tell me you got my daughter pregnant."

There was a moment of silence as Sonny's words weren't the response Jason was expecting.

"I did," Jason said, not entirely sure how phrase the response.

Sonny breathed a sigh of relief as Robert muttered in the background, "And now she's firmly entrenched in your lifestyle if the opportunity to walk away had presented itself. Not that I'm not relieved that she doesn't have cancer."

"Scorpio, shut it," Sonny said.

"If it wasn't for the fact I know you knocking my sister up was unintentional," Dante said, in the background, "I'd be taking shots at you. Consider yourself lucky in that regard."

"I take it you talked to Carly," Jason said.

"She explained the situation with Kellie's tubes and thinking she had cancer," Sonny said, "The last thing Kellie needed was cancer. Do you know if there's any complications with the pregnancy?"

"None," Jason said, "and no IUD to worry about. But the doctors are keeping her overnight for observation."

"Good, how is she taking the news?" Sonny asked.

"About as expected," Jason said, "Shocked since we all thought she couldn't have kids, but relieved it's not cancer. That's all mixed in with everything that goes along with Garrett kidnapping her."

"Can I talk to Kellie or is she out for the night?" Sonny asked.

Jason peaked into the room to see Sloane and Spinelli eating fries with Kellie.

"She's awake," Jason replied, "one of her agent friends is here and Spinelli brought her a milkshake and fries."

"Don't tell me she's doing that thing were she dips her fries in her milkshake," Sonny said.

"She is," Jason said.

"I will never understand that," Sonny said, "Before I speak to Kellie, there's one other thing. Carly said you had Max put guards on her."

"Yeah, I did," Jason said.

"We haven't needed guards like that for years," Sonny said.

"And then Ryan Chamberlain abducted her," Jason said.

"But you rescued her," Sonny said.

"Meanwhile Kellie was sick in the hospital and Garrett had gone after Alyssa," Jason said.

"Instead of being with Kellie, his wife, he was chasing down Carly," Dante said, "who if she had had a guard could have left Jason free to help Kellie and Alyssa sooner."

"Shit," Sonny said.

"The guards stay," Jason said, "I can't be in two places at once, especially now that Kellie and I are having a baby."

"What Jason said," Dante replied.


	27. Chapter 27

"Wait a moment, Chamberlain wasn't a business problem." Sonny said, "Not to mention Carly's just going to complain until…"

"You can't be serious Corinthos," Robert said, "Morgan and Dante are right whether you want to admit it or not."

"It's not just Carly" Dante said, "It's Avery too. You didn't know it wasn't a business threat when that old man with Alzheimers wandered off with her thinking she was his daughter. Guards could have stopped her from going missing. Not to mention all the other times a guard would have been necessary to protect you or someone we care about and didn't have one."

"Didn't Jason's sister get caught in the crossfire in a similar fashion?" Scorpio asked, "Rumor has it you didn't have guards either, Corinthos. Maybe she'd still be alive."

"When I came back to work for you after Emily's death," Jason said, "You promised you'd take all the necessary precautions. And what's happened since?"

"Exactly, I said necessary precautions," Sonny said, "I don't know that I agree all the extra security is necessary."

"The guards stay, Sonny," Jason said.

Gibbs grabbed the phone from Jason, having overheard some of the discussion, "Are you really arguing about more guards, Corinthos? Especially after your daughter already paid the price this time? Do you really want to chance it again?"

"Who the hell are you?" Sonny demanded.

"Special Agent Gibbs," Gibbs replied, "The one man that can make your life a living hell and ensure the feds start scrutinizing your finances and operations even more closely."

"You think a little highly of yourself," Sonny said, "I'm grateful you helped rescue you my daughter but what makes you think you have any power when it comes to my business."

"You want to test me Corinthos, then go ahead, take the guards off," Gibbs said, "I'll have the feds raiding your warehouses faster than you can blink. Your call. All I have to do is make a phone call."

Sonny angrily hung up the phone in a slew of curses that sounded like agreement.

"What did you do that for?" Jason asked.

"You're welcome," Gibbs said.

"Why do you even care beyond rescuing Kellie and apprehending Garrett?" Jason asked.

"I'd prefer not to have to rescue your wife again," Gibbs said, "How is she by the way? Sloane mentioned congratulations are in order after all that."

"Physically she's fine," Jason said, "The doctor says everything looks good. She'll be here until tomorrow. I'm guessing you want to take her statement."

"What do you think Sloane's been doing in there?" Gibbs said, "But while I'm here I do need to take yours."

**Port Charles**

Back in Port Charles, Charles woke Jamie and Jared from their sleep.

"Grandpa, let us sleep," Jamie said, "It's too early for school."

"It's the middle of the night," Jared said, "We're not going to school. Is it mom?"

"She's been found," Charles said, "Jason's with her and she's fine."

"Is she coming home?" Jamie asked waking up more.

"Hopefully tomorrow or the next day," Charles said, "The doctors at the hospital did want to keep her overnight to be absolutely certain she's okay."

"What about Garrett?" Jamie asked.

"He's been arrested," Charles said, "He's going to prison for a very long time. He shouldn't bother us anymore."\

"It'll have to do," Jamie said.

"Does Alyssa know?" Jared asked.

"As soon as you two boys go back to sleep," Charles said, "I'll go tell Alyssa."

The boys laid back in their beds and Charles went to Alyssa's room. He found her sitting up awake.

"Still can't sleep," Charles asked.

Alyssa shook her head, "I just see the spider man."

"I've got some news that I hope will help you sleep then," Charles said, "Your mom should be coming home in the next day or two."

"Uncle Jason found her?" Alyssa asked.

"Yes, he found her," Charles said, "and as soon as the doctors give her the all clear, she'll be home for you know it."

"Will she be mad at me?" Alyssa asked.

"Why do you think she'd be mad at you?" Charles asked.

"It's my fault the spider man took her," Alyssa said.

"We've been over this," Charles said, "Not your fault, none of this, not ever."

"Are you sure?" Alyssa asked.

"I am absolutely positive," Charles said, "I think I know just how to convince you."

**GH**

Alexis took a deep breath outside Lorenzo's hospital room. In a few more days, he would be transferred to a rehab facility.

Alexis leaned next to the bed and whispered, "Lorenzo."

He barely stirred.

"Lorenzo," she whispered louder.

"MMmm" Lorenzo said.

"Lorenzo, wake up," Alexis almost not whispered raising the volume and poked him.

Startled, Lorenzo woke up, kind of grabbing the hand Alexis used to poke him with.

Alexis jumped back attempting to take her hand with her. Somehow Lorenzo managed to hang on to her. He tried to speak his speech not clear.

"I thought someone should tell you, Jason found Kellie," Alexis said, "along with a bunch federal agents and Garrett's been arrested on a list of charges so long, there's no hope of him getting out of it. It sounds like she's fine. There was something about her burning down a cabin in the news. The same one his brother held her in."

Lorenzo managed to give a half smile, relieved.

"Now you know that Kellie's okay for the most part," Alexis said, "At least for now. I have no idea about the cancer part. I will let you go back to sleep."

Lorenzo looked at Alexis, his eyes unmistakenly pleading for her to stay.

"No….don't….you know," Alexis said "No…no… no"

Lorenzo still had her hand.

"Just until you go back to sleep," Alexis said giving in and staying.

**Florida Hospital**

Jason's phone rang right after Gibbs left.

"Charles," Jason answered, "What's going on?"

"I've got someone here who cannot sleep and I thought maybe her mom could help her get to sleep," Charles said.

"I just finished giving my statement," Jason said, "I just need to get back to her room."

Sloane and Spinelli were leaving as Jason came back in the room.

Kellie was yawning.

"You can't go to sleep just yet," Jason said, "Someone wants to talk to you."

Jason handed Kellie the phone confused.

"Hello," Kellie said.

"Mommy," Alyssa said, "Grandpa Charles says you're okay and the bad man is going away."

"Yeah, but you what's even better? I am so happy to hear your voice, baby girl," Kellie said,

"Really?" Alyssa asked, "After I got you kidnapped."

"Of course," Kellie said, "You did not get me kidnapped. The things the bad man did are his fault, not yours. Ever. I will tell you that however many times it takes you to believe it, forever and ever and ever."

"Pinky swear," Alyssa said.

"Double pinky swear," Kellie said.

"Will you sing me Kermit's Rainbow Lullaby?" Alyssa said, "I know I said it was for babies. I think I changed my mind."

"Yeah, I'll sing you the rainbow lullaby," Kellie said.

By the time, Kellie finished singing "The Rainbow Connection, Alyssa had fallen asleep.

"She is out like a light," Charles said, leaving the room, "First time that's happened since."

"Good," Kellie said, her voice cracking, "I hope she forgets all about."

"Alyssa's strong like her mother," Charles said, "She's going to be just fine. You both are. I'd wager to bet Alyssa's not the only one that could use some sleep at this hour. You and the next grandchild could probably use some too."

"Charles," Kellie started to say.

"Family's family," Charles interrupted, "As far as I'm concerned your son or daughter with Jason's is just as much my grandchild as Jared, Jamie, and Alyssa. He or she gets included in anything I'd do for them. There's no arguing."

"I won't," Kellie said in full tears by this point, "Have I ever told you how incredibly lucky I am to have met you?"

"Only a time or too," Charles said, "You let Jason take care of you. The kids and I will see you when you get back. "

Once Kellie hung up, Jason took the phone from her. He sat next to Kellie, letting her lean against him and held her as she fell asleep.


	28. Chapter 28

The next morning when Sonny, Robert, and Dante had made it back to the states and his cell phone had service, Sonny called Max about the guard situation.

"Do you really think the extra guards are necessary?" Sonny asked.

"Yes," Max said, "We tried to tell you when Kellie moved back here and Jason was going to marry her. We wanted to revamp security then, but you insisted again the danger was minimal."

"I don't want you all to be right," Sonny said.

"You hired us and Brick for a reason," Max said, "Not to mention, Jason is saying this is necessary. You realize that he left Kellie sick at the hospital to go after Carly? Are you really so stubborn as to let your pride over this put Carly, Kellie, and the kids in more danger? And pull Jason in too many directions? It's not good for anybody. While Kellie has always been more than capable of taking care of herself; she shouldn't have to not like this. We have the resources. Think of it this way. Maybe you weren't able to protect Kellie from everything she went through as a kid, but this might be one way of making up for it."

Sonny pondered Max's words.

**MetroCourt**

Carly walked into for work irritated at her guards presence.

"The man is doing the job Jason asked him to do," Olivia said, "After what happened with Ryan Chamberlain, I'd think you'd be relieved."

"It's just that Sonny and I hadn't needed guards," Carly said, "It's been quiet for the most part."

"And then Ryan Chamberlain and Garrett Esoterra wreaked havoc every possible direction," Olivia said.

"Ryan's hopefully dead," Carly said, "and Garrett is going to prison. Everything can go back to normal. I don't know why Jason's so worried."

"Maybe because his wife who can usually take of herself is now pregnant," Olivia said, "and Kellie's wicked morning sickness puts her more at risk if someone comes after her. It already did with her being in that creepy cabin with Ethan's brother. That's on top of her being more vulnerable the further along she gets into the pregnancy. What do you expect Jason to do if he has to come to the rescue and leave Kellie on her own again? If you care about Jason as much as you say you do, Carly, you'll quit trying to figure out how to convince him and Sonny not to have the guards."

"Why do you have to go and make so much sense?" Carly said.

**Florida **

"What's taking so long?" Kellie asked, "The doctor said I could go home."

"It does take time for the doctor's to process the paperwork and get you cleared to leave," Jason said.

"I just want to go home," Kellie said.

"You will," Jason said, "You're just going to have to be patient awhile longer."

"You should go get me a chocolate milk shake for the road," Kellie said.

"I'm not getting you that junk," Jason said.

"Then I'll go get it myself," Kellie said.

"You don't have credit cards or cash or any of that on you," Jason said.

"Are you sure about that?" Kellie smirked, backing away from Jason before flashing cash at him.

Jason checked his wallet to find some of his money missing.

"Be sure to get all the instructions from the nurse and doctor if they show up to release me," Kellie said, heading towards the door.

Jason managed to grab Kellie from behind and pull her against him, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I have a few ideas," Kellie said, " But first you need to let me go get my milkshake."

"You need to tell me how you managed to take my cash out of my wallet," Jason said.

"Trade secret," Kellie said.

"Do you two need a room?" Gibbs interrupted, one hand behind his back.

"Aww you've come to torment me one last time before I leave," Kellie said as Jason let her go.

"Nope" Gibbs said, "I'm just here to make sure you make it back to Port Charles. Director's orders."

"Now that your escort is here," the nurse said, pushing a wheel chair into the room, "I think it's time for you to go home."

"You're the reason I've been waiting forever to leave," Kellie said to Gibbs.

"The more you talk, the longer it's going to take you to leave, Corinthos," Gibbs said, nodding at the wheel chair.

Kellie rolled her eyes at Gibbs as she sat in the chair. Another nurse came in and hand Jason Kellie's prescriptions for prenatal vitamins and anti nausea medication.

"Did you lose an arm or something Gibbs?" Kellie asked.

Gibbs moved his hand from behind his back to reveal a chocolate milkshake. Jason tried to intercept it before he could hand it to Kellie. Gibbs stunned him with a smack upside the back of his head.

"This is hers, not yours, Morgan," Gibbs said, handing Kellie the shake.

"I knew somewhere deep down inside you like me just a little bit," Kellie said, sipping the shake as the nurse wheeled her out.

"I pegged Morgan for the feed you spinach and straight milk type," Gibbs said, "You're on your own once you get back to Port Charles."

"I think I can manage," Kellie said.

"What the hell was that?" Jason asked.

"You mean this," Gibbs said, smacking him again.

**The Airport - Private Plane**

On the plane, Gibbs was talking to the pilots and ground control while Kellie and Jason got on board. Jason made sure Kellie was settled for the flight before making some calls to arrange for Johnny and one of Kellie's other guards to meet them at the Airport.

"You could have delegated escort duty to Sloane or another underling," Kellie said, when Gibbs sat down.

"Well, I didn't," Gibbs said.

"Just admit it, Gibbs," Kellie said, "you were worried about me."

"Doesn't mean you're still not a pain in the ass, Corinthos," Gibbs said, "Though your father is a much bigger pain in the ass."

"You've met my father?" Kellie asked.

"I spoke to him briefly last night," Gibbs said.

"About what?" Kellie asked.

"That's between me and him," Gibbs said.

"And you think I'm a pain in the ass," Kellie said, irritated he wouldn't answer.

"I'm just getting started," Gibbs said, "There are a few things we need to discuss. What the hell were you thinking running after your daughter when from what I hear you could barely keep food and water down when the day started and had already passed out once."

"Maybe because some psychotic pervert had her," Kellie said.

"What is the use of you having guards if you don't let them do their job, protecting you?" Gibbs asked, "From what I understand you had at least one guard who could have done what you did jumping on the boat to get Alyssa and you probably wouldn't have passed out."

"Don't tell me a gunshot wound or illness would have stopped you from going after your daughter if she was in the same position mine was?" Kellie said, "We both know damn well it wouldn't."

"You took an unnecessary risk, Corinthos," Gibbs said, trying not to let it show Kellie's words got under his skin, "regardless of whether you were healthy, unhealthy, or pregnant or not."

Kellie stood up to get in Gibbs's face, too quickly, causing her to become lightheaded.

Gibbs caught Kellie to steady her.

"I know it's been awhile since you've had a kid," Gibbs said, helping Kellie sit back down, "But slow movements, okay."

"Damn you, Gibbs," Kellie said, tearing up, "It's not like I meant to end up…"

"I'm not blaming you," Gibbs said, "But there's no reason for you to put yourself in that kind of danger or take that kind of risk. Not where you hire your own personal army for that very reason."

"Is everything okay here?" Jason asked, having finished his calls.

"Hormones and I have to remember to move slowly," Kellie said, "And not get up too fast."

Jason glared at Gibbs not buying the explanation.

Before anything further could be said, the flight attendant advised them they were ready for take off.

At some point during the flight, Kellie dozed off, allowing Gibbs and Jason to speak more freely.

"What did you say to Kellie to put her in tears?" Jason asked.

"All I did was point out there are risks she doesn't have to take. Risks that she pays her guards to take for her if she'd let them," Gibbs said.

Jason didn't have a response.

"It was her daughter's life and well-being at stake," Jason finally said, "As much as I wish she would have waited or let her guard go first, I can't blame her. I highly doubt you do either."

"No," Gibbs said.

After several moments, Gibbs continued, "You and I run on opposite sides of the law and will probably always piss each other off on a good day. Whether I like it or not, it's your responsibility to keep her protected even when she's trying to protect everyone else. I know she probably doesn't make it easy for you."

"No she doesn't," Jason said.

"I know Kellie's going to do what she's going do," Gibbs said, "But I had to say something to her. Maybe she'll listen maybe she won't. But at the end the day at least I know I said something. It's the same as me saying something to you about her father's lack of guards."

"I'm trying to make that better," Jason said.

"I know," Gibbs said, "You better keep trying. Don't think I've forgotten my promise to make your skills seem like child's play if you can't protect her."

"You know for a federal agent," Jason said, "You make a lot of threats."


	29. Chapter 29

When Kellie and Jason got off the plane, they were met by Sonny, Dante, and Robert.

"What are you all doing here?" Kellie asked.

"Our flight got in not too long ago," Dante said, hugging her, "We figured we'd wait for your plane to get in."

"And see if I'm in one piece," Kellie quipped.

"And to tell you only one of us at a time gets to go missing," Dante said.

"For someone that lords his marginal position as big brother over me," Kellie said, "You don't set a very good example for your younger siblings."

"I missed you too," Dante said.

They stepped apart and Sonny pulled Kellie in for a hug.

"I hear you and Jason are making me a grandpa again," Sonny said.

"In about 6 months I guess, give or take," Kellie said.

"Are you okay?" Sonny asked.

"i'm not dying and Garrett is behind bars forever, I hope," Kellie said, only partially holding it together, "I will be. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You've got nothing to apologize for," Sonny said, "What you've been through, it's just going to take you time to work through."

"Dad's right," Dante said, "You just have to give yourself time to process everything that happened. You're strong. I have no doubt you'll feel like yourself in no time."

Something in Dante's voice and eyes caught Kellie's attention. Something wistful and insecure.

"What about you?" Kellie asked.

"I'm home," Dante said, "I have to adjust. Same as you. You have nothing to worry about."

"Do you have any idea how good it feels to have both my oldest kids home," Sonny said, wrapping one arm around each of them.

"Agent Gibbs," Dante said, seeing Gibbs standing at the plane door, "What brings you here?"

"Just making sure your sister stays out of my hair," Gibbs said.

"That's Special Agent Gibbs," Corinthos said, "He's a pain in the ass."

"Funny, he said the same think about you," Kellie said, "What did you two do or say to each other?"

"Gibbs laid into Dad about Carly not having a guard," Dante said.

Kellie looked at Jason and Robert, "Wait, Carly doesn't have a guard? I just assumed Ryan took the guard out of commission when he took Carly."

Jason looked away and Robert shrugged, "Don't look at me. This is your family squabble."

Kellie stepped back, "When the hell are you going to learn, Dad?"

"She has a guard now," Jason said, "It's taken care of. I had Max set it up."

"For how long, Jason?" Kellie said, "We both know when Dad feels like everything's okay to him, he gets lax on security and guards."

Kellie didn't say another word. She nodded good bye to Gibbs and then walked away from the group. Dante followed her.

Sonny watched as Kellie and Dante walked away, "I never wanted to see that look on my daughter's face again."

"What look is that, Sonny?" Robert asked, "From what I understand her being pissed at you is business as usual."

"I've only seen her look that devastated, betrayed one other time," Sonny said, "It was when she found out I took Michael to the warehouse without guards and he ended up in a coma. When we almost lost her to that infection in South America not long after, I promised myself that I would do everything I to make sure she didn't have cause to look at me like that again. When she moved back here I promised her I'd do everything to make her feel safe here in Port Charles and not like she had to be ready to run. I failed her, Jason, and you."

"What are you going to do to fix this?" Jason asked.

"Leave whatever guards you, Max, and Brick think are necessary in place," Sonny said, "No matter how much Carly and Josslyn don't like it."

"You do realize that just telling Kellie you'll leave the guards won't regain her trust," Jason said.

"She has to know that I'm serious," Sonny said, "I know."

"I'm going to get her home," Jason said.

"Let me know how she is," Sonny said.

Jason looked up to where Gibbs had been standing. Gibbs had disappeared back on to the plane unnoticed. Jason shrugged and went off in the direction of Kellie and Dante.

"What is the deal with this Gibbs?" Sonny asked, "He just stood at the airplane door the whole time. I'm surprised after the way he spoke to me on the phone last night, he wasn't sticking his nose in to the conversation."

"He said what he needed to say," Robert said, "At this point, he's just screwing with you by showing his presence and leaving."

"This guy is a federal agent?" Sonny said.

"He really doesn't like you," Robert said, "If I were you I'd be grateful for the tactic he chose."

Kellie was sitting in the backseat of the SUV with the guards when Jason opened the door and sat next to her. Dante had left to go wait for Robert and Sonny.

"I really thought Dad had learned by now, Jason," Kellie said, "I didn't realize I still needed to pay attention to Dad's security details too."

"Carly not having a guard is on Sonny," Jason said, putting his arm around Kellie, "and it's on me. It's not on you. I knew she didn't have a guard, but I didn't think it was my place after being gone so long to interfere in Sonny's security like that. I didn't expect that the result would be me going after Carly when you needed me with you."

"I wanted you to stay with me, Jason," Kellie said, "I wanted you with me while I was wait for tests and to get whatever the news was going to be."

"I wanted to be there with you," Jason said, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. That I couldn't go after Alyssa and keep you from ending up at Garrett's mercy."

"What do we do now?" Kellie said.

"Sonny says the guards are staying," Jason said, "I think he actually means it this time."

"Well him saying he'll keep them doesn't mean much at this point," Kellie said.

"I get it," Jason said, "He's let you down too many times on that front. I can't defend him and I know that you have to see him stick to the promise to believe it. But I think he's sincere."

"He always is," Kellie said, "Until he comes up with a reason to change his mind. You can't fix this. I don't know if any one can."

"I wish I could," Jason said.

"I know," Kellie said.

"What do you want to do?" Jason asked, "Go get the kids from the Quartermaines? Although Monica and Olivia offered to keep them a few more nights if you wanted some time to yourself."

"They're coming home tonight at least," Kellie said, "I need to see them. I need my family all under one roof. I need things to be as normal as they can be."

"Done" Jason said, "I'm going to take you home. While you relax, I'll go pick up the kids. This way you also avoid the barrage of questions from my family in the meantime."

**Kellie and Jason's House**

After taking a bath and changing clothes, Kellie came downstairs surprised to find Jason still there by himself.

"Olivia said she bring the kids over in time for dinner," Jason said, "Something about Jake visiting."

I'm sure it was conveniently arranged," Kellie said, sitting next to him on the couch.

"Olivia just wants you to have the time you need for yourself," Jason said.

"You vetoed going at the punching bag until you can hear the doctor say it's okay," Kellie said.

"If the doctor okays its," Jason said, "You should probably work with a trainer."

"I did during my pregnancy with the twins," Kellie said, "So I'd know what to do and not do. I can't go at it as hard as I'd like to do."

"Just humor me," Jason said, putting his hand against Kellie's stomach, "I just want you and the baby to be healthy."

Before Jason knew what happened, Kellie kissed him hard. As he kissed back, she straddled him, her hands pulling his shirt up.

Jason grabbed her hands to stop her and pulled back.

"There's no pressure for this," Jason said, "Maybe we should check with the doctor…"

Kellie moved her hands to Jason's jeans, pressing herself against his chest and blocking his hands from hers.

"Jason Morgan, I will kill you," Kellie whispered in his ear, "If you tell me we can't do this right now. The baby will be just fine. The doctors in Florida said we're both perfectly healthy. There's no reason we can't. I won't lie. I'd be using you to feel something other than all the other crap I've been feeling right now. I need to feel something good and that's this with you, right now. I refuse to let what Garrett did screw with me so bad I don't make love to my husband. I don't ever want to waste time like that again. Maybe it's kind twisted reasoning for jumping my husband, but I don't care."

Kellie kissed Jason and he pulled her tighter against him.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked.

"Yes, now stop talking," Kellie said, kissing him again.

Jason responded by carrying Kellie upstairs where he let her set the pace.


	30. Chapter 30

Awhile later, Kellie was curled up against Jason under the covers. Kellie traced her fingers along Jason's chest while he played with her hair.

"What time is Olivia bringing the kids home?" Kellie asked. Her hands working their way from Jason's chest to his abs.

"You might be playing with fire," Jason said.

"Is that a challenge?" Kellie asked.

"I know better than to challenge you," Jason said, kissing Kellie, "It depends on how much you want to chance the kids or Olivia catching us."

"Later then," Kellie said.

"Whatever you want," Jason smiled.

They laid there in silence for a few more moments.

"Thank you for being you," Kellie said, "And making coming home feel normal. Do you have any idea how much I love that about you?"

"I'm pretty sure you just gave me a pretty good idea," Jason said, causing Kellie to blush, "Besides I think you're the one that makes it easy. I know you could have reacted a lot of different ways. I love the fact that you just want things to be normal right now and that you're letting yourself have that."

"There's a still hurricane of emotions raging inside me," Kellie said, "I'm going to have deal with one way or another."

"You will," Jason said, "It doesn't mean that you can't enjoy thing either. In the meantime, we probably should get dressed before the kids get home."

Kellie was in the living room when Olivia and the kids came over. The boys came running through the door to hug Kellie. Alyssa was a little more hesitant.

"Come here," Kellie said, when she realized Alyssa was holding back.

Alyssa got on Kellie's lap and curled up against her. Olivia had brought dinner and went in the kitchen to heat it up.

Jamie and Jared told Kellie about everything they'd missed while she was gone from being late for school one day to the new tricks Jake had taught Annabelle.

"Can we get a dog, Mom?" Jared asked.

"I want a kitty!" Alyssa said.

"We could train him to be like a police dog," Jamie said, "Except he could help guard you or be your back up."

"You and Dad wouldn't let us get a dog in California because we didn't have a big enough backyard where he could run around. We have a huge backyard here."

"If the boys get a dog, I want a kitty," Alyssa said.

The kids chattered simultaneously to convince Kellie they should get pets.

"Pet ownership is really big responsibility and a really big decision," Kellie said when they finally quieted down, "It's not a decision that is going to be made tonight."

The kids groaned.

"Spencer's idea of asking right when you got home didn't work," Jamie said as Olivia came into the room.

"When did Spencer start giving you ideas?" Kellie asked.

"That was the only one," Jared said a little too quickly causing Kellie to raise her eyebrow.

"Boys, you might as well fess up to your mother about trying to visit Alyssa in the hospital," Olivia said.

"We were hoping everyone would just forget about that," Jamie said.

Olivia raised her eyebrow.

"Alright," Jared said, "We borrowed Oscar's clothes and tried to get Spencer to sneak us out to the hospital to see Alyssa."

"We will definitely be discussing that," Kellie said, "But it can wait until tomorrow."

"Could we discuss getting a dog too?" Jared asked, "And a cat for Alyssa."

"No," Kellie said, causing the kids protest, "Hold on, there just won't be any discussion until Jason and I talk about it first."

"Will our pets need their own guards?" Alyssa asked.

"No, silly," Jamie said, "Pets don't need guards. Annabelle doesn't have a guard even though Jake does."

"Don't call me names," Alyssa said, "Stupid head." She stuck her tongue out at Jamie.

"None of that, both of you," Kellie said.

"The casserole shouldn't take long to heat up," Olivia said, "You all should go wash your hands before dinner."

Olivia gave them a look before they could protest and the kids went to get ready for dinner.

When Kellie stood up, Olivia hugged her, "I can't believe both you and Dante made it home on the same day. Do you any idea how much worry you two put me through?"

"I'm sure I can imagine," Kellie said.

"Have you heard from Dante yet?" Olivia askd.

"Actually I saw him at the airport," Kellie said, "Our flights landed within 30 minutes of each other."

"Is he okay?" Olivia asked.

"I think so," Kellie said.

"What do you mean think so?" Olivia asked.

"Something seemed off about him," Kellie said, "I just couldn't tell you why."

"He probably just needs time to adjust and be home with his family," Olivia said.

"I hope so," Kellie said.

"How is your stowaway," Olivia said, "You cannot believe how happy I am that…"

Olivia trailed off as the kids had come back in the room.

"Healthy," Kellie said.

"Good," Olivia said, "I will leave you to have dinner with Jason and the kids. I am going to go see your brother. Call me Saturday and we'll catch up. I don't want to hear about any more crazy stunts like jumping across ledges or balconies and boats."

"I'll try not to," Kellie replied, stifling a laugh.

"Don't you laugh at me, young lady," Olivia said as she turned to leave.

"I think Mom's in trouble with Nana Olivia," Jared whispered.

"Jason," Olivia said, "Thank you for bringing our girl home."

In the middle of dinner, Jamie asked, "Did the doctors figure out why you've been sick?"

"Yeah, you don't seem so sick like you did before you…..left," Jared said, "Did they make you better. Are you going to be okay?"

"I am perfectly healthy," Kellie said, "The doctors gave me medicine so I wouldn't be so sick."

"That's good," Jared said, "But what were you sick with like the flu or something."

"Nothing like that," Kellie said, "I'm not sick with any illness or anything like that."

Kellie looked at Jason across the table and took a deep breath, "Do you remember our neighbor in California and how she had a baby? Before the baby was born, he grew in her tummy."

"And she got really big," Jamie said, "But what does that have to do with you being sick?"

"Because babies make moms sick like mom's been,"Jared said, "which means Mom's having a baby I think."

"Yes, that's right, Jared," Kellie said, "Soon you'll have another brother or sister."

"Where is the baby?" Alyssa asked, looking slightly unhappy.

"Inside me," Kellie said, "The baby has to grow in there until he or she is big enough to live out here with us."

"Does the baby have a daddy?" Alyssa asked, "Or did Dad give you a baby from heaven?"

Jamie and Jared looked at each other confused.

"I don't think dead people can make babies," Jared said.

"They can't," Jamie said, "Uncle Jason's the baby's dad."

"How do you know?" Alyssa asked.

"He's married to mom," Jamie said, "and married people and couples make babies, duh."

"That's right," Jason said, "I am the baby's dad."

"Oh," Alyssa said, quietly, and went back to eating her dinner.

The boys filled the space by talking about baseball. It went silent again.

"How are babies made?" Alyssa asked.


	31. Chapter 31

The rest of the dinner was spent attempting to answer Alyssa's question about how babies are made.

Later while the kids were getting ready for bed, Kellie went to the study to make a call.

"Shouldn't you be spending time with your kids?" Robert asked when he realized Kellie had called him.

"They're getting ready for bed," Kellie said, "I wanted to ask you something before it got too late."

"Ask away," Robert said.

"What exactly happened to Dante in Turkey?" Kellie asked.

"He infiltrated Raj's organization," Robert replied, ""When Sonny and I showed up that put an end to Raj's operations."

"I know that part," Kellie said, "The Dante I saw at the airport is not the Dante that I know. He's saying and doing all the right things. Something seems off. I can't put my finger on it."

"Maybe you should be having this conversation with your brother," Robert said, "Or your father?"

"Do you really think Dante or my father will answer those questions?" Kellie said, "They're more like to evade or tell me not to worry about it. Even more so since I was kidnapped and it turns out I have a bun in the oven. So I'm asking you."

"You know what deep cover work is like," Robert said, "You did it in South America years ago."

"You're not answering the question," Kellie said, "If my brother's going to need help, I need to know what happened to him. Like you said, I did deep cover work. I might be one of the few people Dante could talk to."

"He won't talk to you,' Robert said, "Look I'm not supposed to tell you this. But when he was debriefed before leaving Turkey, the doctors also did a physical examination. His back was covered with scars."

"He was tortured," Kellie said, "And god knows what else?"

"It's the what else that concerns me," Robert said.

"So it's not just me," Kellie said, "You think there's something off with Dante too."

"Unfortunately, yes," Robert said, "It seems like something I've seen before. But I'm coming up empty right now."

"If you do figure it out, will you let me know," Kellie said, "I'll do the same."

"I will," Robert said, "Dante's really lucky to have you in his corner."

Jason came looking for Kellie, "Alyssa wants you to read her a bed time story and tuck her in."

"You can't do anything for your brother tonight," Robert said, "So go be with your family and hopefully Dante will reach out."

"Thanks Robert," Kellie said, "I'll be in touch if anything comes up."

"What were you calling Robert about?" Jason asked.

"I had a question about Dante," Kellie asked "We can talk about it after I finish putting the kids to bed."

Upstairs, Alyssa was trying not to nod off as Kellie finished the second story.

"Will you sing the rainbow song again, Mommy," Alyssa asked.

Kellie kissed Alyssa's forehead, "Yeah."

Alyssa was still fighting sleep when Kellie finished the song.

"What about another story?" Alyssa asked.

"Sorry, kiddo," Kellie said, "It is bedtime."

"But what if I dream about the spider man taking you," Alyssa asked.

"The spider man is in prison," Kellie said, "And he's going to stay there for a very long time. He can't come anywhere near our family. So you just need to focus on happy things like rainbows and kittens."

"And my new baby brother," Alyssa said.

"or sister," Kellie said.

"Nope," Alyssa yawned as she finally drifted off, "I'd have to share toys and clothes with a sister. The baby has to be boy."

Alyssa was fast sleep before Kellie could respond. She tucked Alyssa in a little tighter, turned off her bedside lamp and left the room.

She stopped by Jared's room and saw that he had fallen asleep looking up court cases. She realized he was trying to figure out how Garrett's sentencing would fall. She pulled the iPad from the bed and set it on the nightstand. Then she pulled the blankets over him.

In Jamie's room, she found him wide awake.

"Are you doing alright?" Kellie asked, sitting on the bed with him.

"I'm just really glad you're home," Jamie said, "and I'm sorry for not keeping better track of Alyssa on the playground."

"You were probably on the baseball field right and not the monkey bars or swings with Alyssa right," Kellie said, "You're only nine. You do the best you can when you can to look out for your siblings. But you are still a kid. You did what you were supposed to do and follow the teacher's instructions and get away from danger."

"Do you think Uncle Dante could teach me some things about keeping people safe now that he's home?" Jamie asked, "He is a cop and he protects people for a living."

"We'll see, okay," Kellie said, "And just let Uncle Dante relax. He was on a really hard assignment and he might not want to think about doing cop stuff right now."

"Oh, okay," Jamie said.

"Here's the deal," Kellie said, "If Uncle Dante isn't up to doing that soon, I'm sure we can figure something else out okay."

"Can we figure out it this week?" Jamie asked, "with you having a baby, you might need more help."

"You let me and Jason worry about that," Kellie said, "I can also promise that I won't be doing any rescue missions until after the baby's born okay."

"Did you know you were pregnant when you went to save Alyssa?" Jamie said.

"No, I didn't," Kellie said.

"But how come you still went after her thinking you were sick?" Jamie asked.

"Because there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you and your siblings," Kellie said.

"Your mom was still pretty resourceful," Jason said, standing in the doorway, "She lit a fire to help us find her."

"Like a smoke signal?" Jamie asked, yawning.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "And it's time for lights out now. I'll see you in the morning."

Jamie hugged Kellie and burrowed under his covers, "Good night, mommy."

Kellie went with Jason back to their room where her tears for Dante and the kids finally spilled over.

"My kids don't feel safe, Jason," Kellie said, burying her head against Jason's chest, "I never wanted them to feel like that and I failed. Alyssa's afraid to go to sleep, Jamie wants Dante to teach him how to protect people, including me and the new baby, and Jared was looking up court cases I think to figure out how long Garrett would stay in prison. They're seven and nine years old, Jason. They shouldn't have any reason to be concerned about this stuff. I'm failing my kids."

Jason stepped back from Kellie and tilted her head up towards him to wipe the tears from her face.

"The last thing you have done is failed your kids," Jason said, "You've put your life on the line for them every time to keep them safe. I know you were speaking the truth when you told Jamie there wasn't anything you wouldn't do for them."

"That's just it. I haven't done everything," Kellie said, quietly, "And as much I reassure the kids that Garrett's going to prison for a really long time, it's not a done deal yet. He still has to go to trial and be found guilty. What if for some reason he gets out?"

"He's not going to get near you and the kids again," Jason said, "We'll make sure of it."

"But what if I don't want the what if hanging my head," Kellie said.

"Do you want Sonny and I to take care of him?" Jason asked, "All you have to do is say the word."

"You know what forget I said anything," Kellie said, "I don't know what I'm thinking."

"That you're scared and want your family safe," Jason said.

"Then I'm a hypocrite because I've been telling the kids that's not acceptable option," Kellie said, "Now I just seriously considered it twice now."

"I think it's understandable after what you just went through," Jason said, "I remember how you were when you first came to Port Charles in the aftermath of what Ethan did to you. Then to have his brother take you prisoner in the same cabin where that all happen, to realize you were pregnant in the same cabin where you lost your first child, I don't think any one would blame you for wanting Garrett dead."

Kellie tried to hold back the dam of emotions she'd been holding in from her ordeal.

"You can let that hurricane of emotions out," Jason said, pulling her back against him, "I can take it. So just let it out."

He felt Kellie relax against him as she let the full weight of her emotions out. Her tears completely soaking his shirt.

In the middle of this, Jason carried Kellie to bed and helped her change out of her clothes. He gave her his shirt to sleep in. Then crawled in bed with her, curling up against her from behind.

Eventually, Kellie's tears subsided, "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Jason said, "Sometimes you need a good cry. Then you kick ass and take names later."

Kellie tried to hold back a laugh.

"Now what's going on with your brother?" Jason asked, "Why did you feel the need to call Robert Scorpio about him?"

"Something in Dante's eyes," Kellie said, "I've seen that look somewhere before, just not Dante. I can't place it. I was hoping Scorpio would have answers. All I know is that Dante was tortured. There were scars all over this back. I want to help my brother, but I don't know if I can."

"I know that if Dante wants your help, he'll ask for it," Jason said, "You're going to have to let him sort this out in own time, in his own way."

"I know," Kellie said as she fell asleep in Jason's arm, "Doesn't mean I have like it."


	32. Chapter 32

**The Next Day**

School still hadn't started back up after Garrett's antics on the playground. Kellie and the kids stayed home. Jason had left to meet with Sonny while Kellie and the kids were in the middle of a movie when Carly showed up.

"Johnny let me in," Carly said coming in the room.

"That's fine," Kellie said.

"Do you guys mind if I borrow your mom for a few minutes?" Carly asked the kids, "We'll just be in the kitchen. I promise I'll bring her back."

The kids nodded and Kellie got up from the couch. Kellie and Carly headed to the kitchen.

Carly excited hugged Kellie, "I'm so happy you're home."

Before Kellie could say another word, Carly started to chatter away, "And how great is it, we're both pregnant at the same time. I refused to believe it when Jason said the doctors thought you had ovarian cancer. Thank God, Spinelli was able to look through your medical records. You have to be so relieved. Thinking you were dying, I can't imagine."

"Of course, I'm relieved," Kellie said, "Could we um."

"So what did the doctors have to say about your due date and is the baby healthy?" Carly asked, continuing with her questions.

"Everything looks good," Kellie said, "I'm probably around the end of the first trimester. I have to set up an appointment at GH for pre-natal care. I'll probably have a better idea then."

"We'll have to go shopping for maternity clothes and baby things together," Carly said.

"Carly, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact I'm having another kid," Kellie said, "I haven't even thought about maternity clothes and all the things a baby is going to need yet."

"Can you imagine?" Carly kept speaking, "Our kids will be such good friends."

"You do realize your kid will be my kid's aunt or uncle right," Kellie asked.

"But they'll still be good friends," Carly said.

"Does that mean I should start calling you, Aunt Kellie," Michael said, entering the kitchen, "You are married to my uncle."

"How much do you value your life, Michael?" Kellie asked.

"Michael," Carly asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Stopping by to see my sister," Michael said, "And to make sure you don't go crazy planning play dates on her first full day home."

"Who told you?" Carly asked.

"I stopped by the MetroCourt to see you," Michael said, "Olivia told me you were on your way here. I know you and I know my sister could probably use a a few days before your spring shopping sprees and whatever else on her?"

"Have I ever told you you're my favorite brother Michael?" Kellie asked.

"I'm pretty sure I cinched that when I got the lease on the Crossing Into Dawn office buildings free," Michael said.

"Nice try. You know I can't be bought," Kellie said.

"Let's at least plan on shopping," Carly said.

"When I'm ready to go maternity clothes shopping," Kellie said, "I'll let you know."

Carly wanted to protest.

"That's fair enough, Mom," Michael said, "Kellie only got home yesterday and just found out she's having a kid."

"Alright," Carly said, "But I want all the details about your first prenatal visit. I assume the doctors in Florida took an ultrasound. Did you get copies?"

"Mom," Michael said.

"Okay, okay," Carly said, "I'm just so excited for you. Have you told the kids yet?"

"Last night," Kellie said, "When they wanted to know if we figured out why I was sick all the time. They don't seem fazed by it. Alyssa wanted to know how babies were made and she says the baby has to be a boy so she doesn't have share."

"If she's ends up with a sister," Carly said, "She's going to have a rude awakening."

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Kellie said.

"How is she after everything?" Carly asked.

"i'm not sure" Kellie said, "She's wanted to stay close to me, but at the same time is afraid I blame her. She's chatty, but kind of quieter than normal. I have no idea what to do for her. What good is everything I learned with the foundation if I have no idea how to use it to help my own daughter?"

"Okay, you may not know how use that knowledge to help your daughter," Carly said, "But you have people that do. People that can tell you what you need to do to help."

"Mom's right," Michael said, "This isn't like when you rescue kids and girls. It's your daughter. It makes sense that what you'd do for the people you rescue wouldn't be the same as what you'd do for your daughter."

"I guess in my head, I know that," Kellie said, "And Dr. Byrne referred Alyssa to a child psychiatrist."

"You already have a next step," Michael said, "In meantime, just let her be a kid as much as possible."

Kellie's phone dinged that she'd received a text message. She opened the message and started laughing and crying.

"What is it?" Carly asked.

Kellie handed Carly and Michael her phone. They looked at the message from Molly, showing a picture of her wearing an 80s prom dress and TJ in a powder blue tux. The message with it read, "Just thought you could use something normal."

"What does that mean?" Michael asked.

"I don't think there's anything normal about Molly wearing an 80s prom dress," Carly said.

"After I almost died in South America," Kellie said, "Kristina and Molly would randomly text me stories about their day or pictures with everything from homework to shopping. They told me it was because they wanted to give me something normal. It didn't matter whether I responded or not, they kept doing it. So that's what Molly's doing and trying to make me laugh with the prom dresses."

"Can I have that photo?" Michael asked.

"Nope," Kellie said, snatching her phone back "So you can forget any thoughts you have about using that photo against them?"

**Poluzzo's**

Jason walked into the back office.

"Thanks for coming," Sonny said, "I know you probably would have rather stayed home. I would have stopped by, but I'm not sure Kellie would appreciate it right now."

"She's going to need time, Sonny," Jason said.

"I know you're right," Sonny said, "But patience isn't always my strong suit."

"What do you need?" Jason asked.

"How is Kellie?" Sonny asked.

"She's processing, trying to be strong for the kids," Jason said, "School has started up again after the shooting. So they're having a movie and popcorn day."

"Good," Sonny said, "How's she doing with Garrett's fate, going to prison? Personally, I think it's too good for him."

"I agree. And Kellie's struggling with that," Jason said, "Agent Gibbs and I had to talk her out of shooting Garrett at the cabin. Gibbs had already had him in custody and he was taunting her."

"Jesus," Sonny said.

"She's tempted to ask us to take care of him," Jason said, "The thought of Garrett having any chance of coming after her or the kids again bothers her."

"I know the decision should be hers, Jason," Sonny said, "But I want to make sure Kellie never has to worry about that bastard ever again. If he disappeared, what the odds Kellie would be upset."

"Honestly, she might be unhappy with us," Jason said, "But the peace of mind she'd get…. I think she'd take the approach she did when we found out Dante was your son; pretend she buys that Dante shot himself on accident and just not ask questions."

"Unfortunately, we'll have to let things cool off," Sonny said, "Before we can make any decisions one way or the other."

"In the meantime, we'll monitor the situation," Jason said, "What's the latest on Kristina?"

"It's the same," Sonny said, "She's cutting everybody out of her life. Sam is still trying to find out more and gain Shiloh's trust."

"Drew's still on board with this?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Sonny said, "They staged some kind of epic fight when he went blind after he had followed her and Shiloh to that medieval tower."

"We need to call them," Jason said, "Shiloh and Garrett know each other. NCIS didn't think it was a coincidence that Shiloh and Garrett were in Port Charles at the same time. Garrett uses navy petty officers to move people and Shiloh used to be a defense contractor for the Navy."

"Tell me NCIS was able to open the file on Shiloh," Sonny said.

"Not quite," Jason said, "When we were going through Drew's file looking for connections between Shiloh and Garrett, we found a surveillance photo of Shiloh and Garrett. Additionally, Shiloh's Dawn of Day set up looks more and more like the set up for one Karpov's former associates. Petrov had a similar organization, groups that did community outreach and lived together. However, his included an inner circle and rumor has it was black mailing members into sleeping with him. Garrett was trafficking people through those organizations."

"What are the chances Shiloh is doing the thing here?" Sonny asked.

"Fairly high, I'd say," Jason said, "Unfortunately, NCIS has their hands tied. They still can't get Shiloh's file. According to the Director, what he's been told is a picture of Shiloh with Garrett isn't enough to get that or pursue a full investigation. They'll need more concrete evidence that Dawn of Day is more than what Shiloh portrays it be. The NCIS agents working the case are comparing it to that sex cult out of New York that was recently busted."

"My daughter's involved with a sex cult?" Sonny replied.

"It looks that way," Jason said, "The FBI is looking into Shiloh's finances. They know his inheritance was cut off and want to know where his funding is coming from."

"Those outrageous Classe fees," Sonny said, "And if Shiloh is trafficking people for Garrett, I'm sure there is a cut for him as well. We need to talk to Sam and Drew. If what you're telling me about Shiloh and Garrett is true, then we don't have a lot of time before Shiloh tries to take advantage of Kristina or even Sam."

"It would be helpful if Drew remembered why he would have surveillance footage of Garrett and Shiloh," Jason said.

"You don't think he was involved," Sonny asked.

"I know he doesn't have his memories," Jason said, "But I can't see Drew being involved in something like that except to take it down."

"You're right," Sonny said as Sam walked in.

"Hey," Sam said, "I was hoping to talk to you, Sonny."

"Have you had any luck finding anything on Shiloh?" Sonny asked.

"Not yet," Sam said, "I'm just going to need more time. I want to be sure you won't take care of things because you get impatient."

"Sam, you're playing a dangerous game," Jason said, "He has connections to Garrett."

"Since when?" Sam asked.

"We found evidence he and Garrett cross paths in Afghanistan," Jason said, "When Drew was there."

"Great so the cops can open an investigation," Sam said.

"No, not yet," Jason said. He and Sonny proceeded to fill Sam in on the connections to Petrov and the sex cult theory.

"Maybe you should back off, Shiloh," Sonny said, "If Shiloh is running a cult, who knows what he'll do to you if he gets any hint you're anything but a devoted follower. He already took you to God knows where to do God knows what."

"But the cops can't do anything and meanwhile I'm only person Kristina is talking to," Sam said, "If I back out now and she stops talking to me, where are we then."

"My plan," Sonny said.

"Then Kristina will blame herself when Shiloh disappears," Sam said, "And I don't know that she can handle that."

"Better than him coercing her into sleeping with him," Sonny said, "And you can Drew continuing to pretend you're having marital problems."

"Sonny, it kind of works out with Drew staying with Oscar at the Quartermaines until….  
Sam said, "As awful as that sounds. Drew seems to understand I don't want my sister hurt. I'm just trying to protect her. "

"I'm trying to protect her too," Sonny said.

"Maybe there's a middle ground," Jason said, "Law enforcement may not be able to dig. But not that we know there's a connection between Garrett and Shiloh, we can keep looking."

"I'm still going to see what else I can come up with by attending classes and spending time with Shiloh," Sam said.

"Just be careful, Sam," Jason said.

"And figure out how to do it without putting your marriage to Drew on the line," Sonny said.

"It'll be fine," Sam said, "How's Kellie?"

"She's good, all things considered," Jason said.

"I'd imagine she had quite the ordeal," Sam said, "Is she still sick? Or did the doctors figure that out?"

"Kellie's pregnant," Jason said.

"Seriously, Jason," Sam said, "Why was she really sick? I know Kellie had her tubes tied years ago."

"The doctor never actually did the procedure," Sonny said.

Sam looked back and forth between Jason and Sonny.

"You're not joking," Sam said, "How did that happen?"

"Spinelli's looking into it," Jason said, "We think Helena had something to do with it. Maybe tomorrow I could stop by and tell Danny."

"Sure, but what's the rush," Sam asked, "Kellie's probably what 6-8 weeks along."

"She's probably more like 11-13 weeks," Jason said.

Sam's eyes got wide, "You don't have a lot of time before she starts to show."

"She's already using a rubber band or hair tie to fasten her jeans," Jason said.

"Kellie hates shopping as it is," Sam said, "I've got some items left over from when I was pregnant with Scout. I'll drop them by the house tomorrow. Then she's covered if she needs something else before she has a chance to go shopping."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," Jason said.

"The last thing she needs to worry about right now is having clothes that fit," Sam said.

"Is there anything else you need, Sonny?" Jason said.

"No, go home," Sonny said, "Tell Kellie and the kids I love them."

"The two of you will figure it out," Jason said, "I'll call Spinelli and see if he found out any more on Shiloh. How's your dad?"

"Frustrated on not being able to communicate. He's being moved to a rehab facility tomorrow," Sam said, "I'll get Kellie the information if she wants to see him."

"Good," Jason said, turning to leave, "I will see you later."

"Congratulations, by the way," Sam said as Jason left.


	33. Chapter 33

Sam found Drew at Aurora and filled him in on Shiloh's connection to Garrett.

Drew was momentarily stunned at the revelation that Dawn of Day could be a front for sex trafficking.

"So that means NCIS is investigating Shiloh then?" Drew said.

"No, until they have something more than a photo tying them together," Sam said, "Their hands are tied."

"That doesn't sound right," Drew said.

"Someone above the NCIS Director is calling that shot," Sam said, "Says the files are extremely classified."

"I think we need to rethink this plan," Drew said, "If he has ties to Garrett, who knows what he could do. With Garrett out of commission and unable to fulfill his part of the operation, Shiloh could get desperate."

"Which means Kristina is in even more danger," Sam said, "It's even more important I keep making Shiloh think I'm on his side."

"What about Kellie's foundation," Drew asked, "Wouldn't they look into it?"

"I would assume so," Sam said, "But I don't know for sure. Who's to say NCIS or somebody won't tell the foundation to back off?"

"I think you should talk to Kellie about this," Drew said, "Get her take on this. We already know what Garrett is capable of, terrorizing Kellie and her kids for the last couple of years. We have no idea what Shiloh is capable of."

"If it comes down to it," Sam said, "I'd rather Shiloh take it out on me and not Kristina. What if it were Oscar? Oscar was living with Shiloh. You can't tell me you'd be this hands off with Oscar."

Drew didn't respond immediately.

"Point taken," Drew said, "But the conflict between us for Shiloh's benefit goes no further than a few staged fights in public. Not in front of the kids. None of this pretend separation stuff. And you tell me whenever you are in his company and how long you expect to be in his company. If I don't hear from you after a set amount of time, I'm coming after you."

"Only if I can do it without attracting Shiloh's attention to do it," Sam said.

"You're resourceful," Drew said, "I'm sure you can figure out how to do it."

"Deal," Sam agreed, "Jason wants to see Danny tomorrow. I said it was fine. He wants to tell Danny that he's about to be a big brother again."

"I take it Kellie doesn't have cancer," Drew said, "When Kim told Jason about the possibility, they both seemed pretty sure Kellie couldn't have kids."

"The current theory is it's the result of something Helena did back when Tyler was still alive," Sam said.

"Huh," Drew replied, "I don't expect that went as Helena planned."

**The Next Day**

Charles came by to stay with the kids while Kelli and Jason went to the hospital for a prenatal appointment.

Charles arrived with a gift bag in hand, "It's not much, but I figured with all that's been going on, there might not have been an opportunity to celebrate the newest addition to the family."

"Charles, you shouldn't have," Kellie said, finding a teddy bear and a blanket in the bag, "You're going to make me cry. I've cried way too much lately."

"Well remember you do have an excuse with the hormones and all," Charles said, hugging Kellie, "You are just going to have to get it through your head, I meant what I said about spoiling all four kids equally rotten. There will be no more arguments out of you, young lady. Not that I'd let you win this one."

"If you insist," Kellie said.

"Which do the kids know they're about to gain a sibling?" Charles asked.

"They know," Kellie replied, "I figured it was better just to tell them considering how many other people knew. Not to mention I'm not sure how much longer I have until I start showing. I've always tended to show rather quickly once I hit the second trimester. I"m already relegated to hair ties and yoga pants."

"Breathe," Charles said, "You take one thing at a time. Remember there's no right way or wrong way to handle finding out you're expecting a bonus kid when you and everyone else except maybe Helena was fairly certain you couldn't get pregnant any more. "

"Well when you put it that way," Kellie said, "Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved and ecstatic that I don't have cancer. I'd take this outcome every time. Having another kid right now, seems like a lot. And it feels like it's happening at warp speed. Carly's already trying to get me to go baby shopping with her."

"Which you do not have to do until you're ready," Jason said, joining them, having overheard the conversation, "Sam mentioned she was going to bring some clothes she thought you could use if you needed them before you had a chance to go shopping."

"That may be the best news I've had today," Kellie said.

"We should really get going," Jason said.

"Yes, so the doctors can tell you it's fine if it I hit the punching bag," Kellie said, "As long I take it easy."

"With a trainer," Jason said as Kellie rolled her eyes.

"The kids are having breakfast in the kitchen," Kellie said to Charles.

"I think I got this," Charles said, "Now go."

In the vehicle, Kellie and Jason sat in the back seat.

"You know Charles is right, there's no right or wrong way for how you feel or handle how much of a surprise the baby is," Jason said.

"You heard that," Kellie said.

"And that you feel overwhelmed at the idea of having another kid," Jason said.

"I hate that I feel that way, Jason," Kellie said, "I didn't feel that way with my other pregnancies, even the boys who are shock like this one."

"Those were completely different circumstances," Jason said, "First off with the boys, you hadn't completely given up on the idea of having kids even if you didn't think you should have them. Even if Carlos Alcazar hadn't shot you up full of fertility drugs, your regular birth control could have failed on its own for what ever reason. Two, you really weren't dealing with any enemies when you were pregnant before. Carlos was dead and Helena chose for the most part to leave you alone with a few non-lethal exceptions. Here you have Garrett, still alive, and possibly Shiloh. As much as I hate to say this, you have reason to be suspicious of any of the families."

"The security concerns are different," Kellie said, "Uncle Lo isn't able to help with them like he has in the past. Francis is out of commission."

"And Lorenzo set up a really good security team with back ups for you and the kids," Jason said, "Max and I worked with both of you on setting things up here in Port Charles. We've got it handled and I know Johnny is already working on expanding the team for when the baby's born."

"Okay, good," Kellie said.

"How much was Tyler involved with your security plans in California?" Jason asked.

"He knew the general plans and any changes" Kellie said, "He took self-defense classes and firearms training. Most of it was on me. It wasn't exactly his area of expertise. Not that he wouldn't come to my or the kids defense if needed. But ummm."

"Tyler wasn't always comfortable with the gunfights or bloodshed," Jason said "I was surprised he actually shot Carlos. I knew he had a gun, but wasn't sure he'd actually use it."

"You knew my husband had a gun and I didn't," Kellie asked.

"I saw him carrying it when you came back here for Sage and Milo's wedding," Jason said.

"You didn't bother to mention this to me," Kellie said.

"It wasn't my place," Jason said.

"Doesn't mean I like it any less," Kellie said, "Stupid bro code."

"He just didn't want you to worry as much," Jason said, "Which considering he fainted the first time he saw a man killed was probably foregone conclusion."

"It bothered him, killing Carlos," Kellie said, "He'd never admit it to me and I know he'd have made the same choice again and again. But he struggled with taking a man's life."

"I'm not surprised," Jason said.

"Sometimes that's why I think I fell in love with him," Kellie said, "Because he was everything I wasn't."

"And he taught you to see everything that was good in the world," Jason said, "And that you were someone worth loving."

"He did," Kellie said, quietly, "Which why were you asking about Tyler's involvement with security?"

"I was trying to figure out if you were used to trying to shoulder the day to day on your own," Jason said, "Or if Tyler shouldered some of it for you. It sounds like it was on you."

"Is this your way of reminding me that it's not all on me here," Kellie said, "And to ask you for help with this stuff."

"Yeah," Jason said.

"Old habits do die hard with this one sometimes," Johnny said from the front seat, ignoring the dirty look that Kellie gave him.

At General hospital, Kellie and the baby were given a clean bill of health and Dr. Navarro cleared Kellie to do light work outs with the punching bag.

"How far along would you say I am?" Kellie asked.

"Based on the date of your last period in December and the measurements from the ultrasound," Dr. Navarro said, "Thirteen weeks. You're due at the end of September, early October. Do you have any other questions?"

Kellie shook her head.

"If that's the case," Dr. Navarro said, "That's it for today. I'll want to see you again in a month. You can arrange that with the nurse. With your history of morning sickness after the first trimester, I'll keep the prescription for the anti-nausea drugs renewed if you feel you should need throughout the rest of the pregnancy."

After Kellie and Jason set the next appointment, Kellie asked Epiphany if Lorenzo had been transferred to the rehab center yet.

"No, he's still here," Epiphany said, "Room 307. I take it Jason or Sam has filled you in on his condition."

"I'm aware that he's physically impaired and his speech is also problematic," Kellie said.

"I just want you to be prepared for what you see when you walk in there," Epiphany said.

"I could see Danny and Jake later," Jason said, "If you need me here."

"I think I can handle seeing Uncle Lo," Kellie said, "Not to mention, I'd like to speak with Dr. Byrne and Dr. Finn since they attended Alyssa when she was brought in. I'm sure Danny and Jake could use some time with their dad."

"Are you sure?" Jason asked.

"I'm sure," Kellie said.

"You heard her, Morgan," Epiphany said, "Your wife's got this one."

"If you need anything," Jason said.

"I promise I will call," Kellie said.

"I'll make sure she does," Epiphany said.

Jason kissed Kellie and then left.

"Thank you," Kellie said.

"Don't thank me yet" Epiphany said, "If something does go haywire, you will be calling your husband. You will not be running off to God knows where, I don't care how many guards you think you have."

"You sound like Agent Gibbs," Kellie muttered.

"What was that?" Epiphany asked.

"Nothing," Kellie said, "Look could you see if Dr. Finn and Dr. Byrne have time to speak to me today or set up an appointment."

"I can tell you about when you're daughter was brought in," Epiphany said, "Screaming her pretty little head off, Dr. Finn had to sedate her."

"I know that she had some kind of breakdown and that that bastard had his hands on her," Kellie said, "I just want to know how to help her."

"Dr. Byrne has an opening at 11 this morning," Epiphany said, "That's your best chance at talking to Dr. Byrne."

"I'll take it," Kellie said as Finn approached the Nurses Station.

"You summoned me, Epiphany," Finn said.

"Ms. Corinthos … I mean Mrs. Morgan knows you were the attending when her daughter was brought in the other night," Epiphany said, "And wanted to speak to you."

"I've got a few moments," Finn said, "Mrs. Corinthos…Morgran…what do I call you."

"Kellie is fine," Kellie replied, "If you want to be technical it's Kellie Riley Corinthos Alcazar Scott Morgan."

"Now I know Alcazar has never legally been one of your last names," Epiphany said, "Of that much I'm certain. Are you trying to scare Dr. Finn?"

"I don't scare easy," Dr. Finn said.

"I'm aware you dabble with the WSB and some of their cases," Kellie said, "I highly doubt you scare easy."

"I'm actually impressed you know that," Dr. Finn said.

"Hazard of my life, making sure I'm maintain some awareness of people I might be in contract with," Kellie said.

"So what can I do to help you?" Finn asked.

"I know you saw what state my daughter was in after she and I were kidnapped," Kellie said, "I was wondering if you could tell me how I might help her."

"I'd say a psychiatrist would be of more assistance," Finn replied.

"I know that," Kellie said, "She seems fine now, other than a few night mares, but quieter and hasn't said much about that night."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Finn said, "That's the best advice I can give you. From what I understand you have some of the best child psychiatrists that specialize in this type of trauma retained to help your daughter. Let them do what they do best and just be her mom."

"Dr. Finn's right," Epiphany said, "Let Alyssa come to you if she needs to talk about what happened to her and you."

"Thank you, Dr. Finn," Kellie said, "I appreciate your time. And your's too Epiphany."

"If that's settled," Epiphany said, "i have other things to do. Now go see your uncle while you wait for Dr. Byrne and quit loitering at my station."


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of updates lately, work's been busy lately. I don't know that I'll have another update until the end of the month when work slows down again. But I will try. **

Kellie made her way to Lorenzo's room and found Sam and Sage outside the room.

"Hey," Sam said, hugging Kellie "I was going to come see you later."

"Well, I wanted to see Uncle Lo," Kellie said, "And I had an appointment."

Sam and Kellie stepped apart and Sage stepped into hug Kellie.

"Did Jason tell you what kind of shape Uncle Lo's in?" Sage asked.

"He did," Kellie said, "I am so sorry. He was going after Garrett with me and…."

"This isn't your fault," Sam said, "If you hadn't gone, Dad still would have gone anyway. He wouldn't have had it any other way."

"She's right," Sage said, "Garrett was out for blood if anyone got in his way. And you, I'm just glad you're back and in one piece. Maybe, we could grab drinks and lunch at the Floating Rib after we're done here. They're not moving Uncle Lo until this afternoon."

"I can't stay long," Kellie said, "I have an appointment with the psychologist that admitted Alyssa the other night. Olivia and Lulu want me to stop by some welcome home party for Dante. But we will do lunch another day and I will take a rain check on drinks for later this year after the baby's born."

"Wait, baby?" Sage asked, looking confused and noting Sam did not seem surprised.

"Believe me, no one's more surprised than I am," Kellie said.

"You knew," Sage asked looking at Sam.

"I ran into Jason when I went to see Sonny about Kristina yesterday," Sam said, "Speaking of which I am going to grab the clothes I was going to bring to you. I'll give them to Johnny. Then I have to go to the Quartermaines and check on Danny since Jason's telling him and Jake about the baby."

"I'm sorry that Danny is struggling with all the changes with Jason and I," Kellie said.

"We'll get him through it," Sam said.

"We all will," Sage said.

"I'm going to go," Sam said, "I will see you two later. Sage, if they move Dad before I get back."

"I got it handled," Sage said, "Now go.

Sam left and Kellie turned to go into Lorenzo's room.

"Are you ready for this?" Sage asked.

"As I can be," Kellie said, entering the room.

Lorenzo saw Kellie enter the room and tried to sit up with no luck.

"Don't push yourself unless the doctor's say it's okay," Kellie said, sitting next to the bed, "I know it's the pot calling the kettle black."

"Di—ancer?" Lorenzo said.

"Diancer?" Kellie replied puzzled, "Wait….are you asking about the cancer?"

Lorenzo nodded.

"I don't have cancer," Kellie said as Lorenzo looked relieved, "Ummm… Jason and I are having a baby."

Kellie watched the confused look play out across Lorenzo's face.

"Long story short, apparently my tubes were never tied," Kellie said, "Probably Helena's doing."

Lorenzo tried to form another sentence but struggled.

"Let me see what questions I think you might want answered," Kellie said, "I'm fine, the baby's fine. I'm due at the end of September. Garrett did not do anything to me aside from keep imprisoned in a cabin with Liesl Obrecht. Which reminds me I need to thank her when I see her. She made sure I was healthy enough to escape. We used the cabin as a smoke signal and distraction. Jason worked with Agent Gibbs to find me. They got to the cabin as they were escaping. Garrett's in custody. The school still hasn't opened up since….well you know. The kids seem to be okay after all of it. Alyssa is meeting with a child psychologist this week…Does that cover most of your questions?"

Lorenzo nodded.

"I am so sorry that Garrett shot you," Kellie said, "And that you're going thought this.

Lorenzo shook his head and tried to speak again.

"Hold on," Kellie said, "Can you write?"

Lorenzo shook his head, frustrated.

"Have you tried typing with your good side?" Kellie asked. She was met with another head shake.

Kellie pulled her phone out and pulled up the notes app. She held the phone so Lorenzo could type what he wanted to say.

Lorenzo slowly hen pecked out on the phone with this finger, "Not your fault."

"It still doesn't mean I don't feel responsible," Kellie said.

"How's it going in here?" Sage asked, entering.

"Good," Kellie said, "Where' s Uncle Lo's phone or a tablet. He can type to communicate with us."

"Look at you, Uncle Lo," Sage said.

"Shoot," Kellie said, "I have to go. I have an appointment with Dr. Byrne to discuss Alyssa. I'm glad you'll recover Uncle Lo. Let me know when you're up for visitor's at the rehab center."

**The Quartermaine Mansion**

Jason had played a video game with the boys when he arrived at the Quartermaine mansion. Cook had prepared lunch and cookies for Jason to share with Danny and Jake.

Before anyone could take a bite, Danny said, "Okay, what bomb are you planning to drop on both of us. This isn't the normal time you see us. Mom insisted I had to see you today instead of join my friends.

"Aren't you grounded?" Jake asked.

"That's the besides the point," Danny said.

"You're right, there is something I need to tell both of you," Jason said, "But I hope you don't think of this as a bomb, but more like good news."

Danny groaned.

"It can't be that bad," Jake said, "Plus we got to spend extra time with Dad both of us together."

"Excuse me if I don't like it that I get time with Dad only because he has to tell us something," Danny said.

"That's your fault, Danny," Jake said, "I heard you skip your times with Dad."

Danny rolled his eyes, "Can we get this over with?"

"I'll just come out and say it," Jason said, "Kellie's pregnant."

"I don't see what that has to do with me," Danny said, standing up from his chair, "I don't live with you or go to your house so."

"Danny, I know you may not be happy with the situation," Jason said, "But I still expect you to be respectful…."

"I will respectfully keep my distance," Danny said, grabbing cookies and storming off. "I'll just keep my mouth shut about the whole affair. Since what I think doesn't matter."

"That's not what I meant," Jason said.

"Why is he so angry?" Jake asked.

"I wish I knew," Jason said, "I know a lot of the changes that have happened have been hard on him and you."

"Do you think he would do art with me?" Jake asked, "It helped me."

"I don't know, buddy," Jason said, "But that's for his Mom and I to figure out. How do you feel about having another sibling?"

"It's okay, I guess," Jake said, "I guess it'll be like a tinier version of Aidan or Scout. Our family is just getting bigger and that's a good thing, I think. It might be cool to share a sibling with Jamie and Jared."

"I know it's a big change," Jason said, "If you need to talk about it or need to time to be okay with it, I hope you'll tell me and we can have conversations about this."

"Hey, how's it going in here?" Sam asked.

"Danny's mad about being a big brother again," Jake replied.

"I'm sure eventually he'll feel better about it," Sam said.

"He just needs to think about it," Jake said.

"Exactly," Sam said, "I'm going to go see how that's going."

"Dad and I are going to finish lunch then," Jake said, "You should tell Danny he should probably eat more than cookies for lunch."

"I will make note of that," Sam said, heading up stairs.

Danny had found Oscar upstairs in his room.

"It can't be that bad, Danny," Oscar said.

"Yes it can," Danny said, "Like my family really needs another kid running around. Uncle Sonny has a bazillion kids running around. And my stepmom is apparently following in her father's footsteps. This will be number four for her. I already have Jake and Scout for siblings."

"Jake and Scout are pretty awesome," Oscar said, "What's to say the new baby won't be just as awesome."

"I don't get they why they decided to have another kid," Danny said, "The marriage was supposed be some kind of protection for Kellie from Uncle Sonny's people."

"So the marriage with your Dad is probably the real deal then," Oscar said, "Don't you want your Dad to be happy like your mom and my dad are happy. If Kellie make's your Dad happy, isn't that a good thing."

"I guess," Danny said, "I just thought that my parents would at least try to get back together. No offense to your dad."

"I get it," Oscar said, "Part of me hoped my dad and mom would get back together when things were dicey with Sam last year. I had to figure out how to accept that wasn't going to happen."

"Hey kiddo," Sam said, entering the room.

"I assume you know Dad's having another kid," Danny said.

"I do know that," Sam said, "I thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to stay here or go home or."

"What about Cody's birthday party this afternoon?" Danny asked with laser tag.

"Still grounded," Sam said, "Nice try."

"Can Danny stay and keep me company?" Oscar asked, "I'm not going anywhere today. Joss is coming over but I think that's it."

"Please mom," Danny asked.

"It's not really being grounded staying at your grandma's," Oscar said.

"Okay," Sam said, "But you stay here, deal."

"Deal," Danny said.

"I will be by to pick you and Scout up later," Sam said.

"Maybe I could spend the night," Danny said.

Sam shook her head.

"I wouldn't press my luck if I were you," Sam said leaving as Alice brought food up to Oscar's room for both boys.

The boys were eating sandwiches when Josslyn showed up.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Danny," Josslyn said, "I thought for sure you'd be on house arrest when we found you in the trunk at Niagara Falls."

"When your Dad and stepmom decide to have a baby," Danny said, "You get free pass for the day anyway to get the news broken to you."

"You are at your grandmother's so that free pass probably didn't get you as far as you would like" Josslyn said.

Unfortunately, no," Danny said, "But I'm not at the penthouse at least. Thanks, Oscar for asking my mom if I could stay."

"No problem," Oscar said.

"You're not the only one getting a new sibling by the way," Josslyn said, "I found out my parents are having another baby too."

"Aren't your parents like too old to have kids?" Danny asked.

"I guess not," Josslyn said, "It's still weird to think of my parents having a baby at their age."

"Especially when you figure Uncle Sonny has a whole bunch of adult children," Danny groaned "including my step mom."

"She'll be a sister to my mom's new baby," Josslyn said.

"What kind of twisted family are we growing up in?" Danny asked.

"I think the two of you should just not think about all the crazy family ties you have," Oscar said.

"That's easy for you to say," Danny said, "Your dad didn't decide to marry and have a baby with your mom's cousin."

"Wait, Sam and Kellie are cousins?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah, my stepsister's an Alcazar and so is Sam," Josslyn said, "And Danny, I'm pretty sure based on a conversation I overhead my Mom and Sonny having, Jason and Kellie didn't plan on having any kids together."

"Yeah, right," Danny said.

"No, I'm serious," Josslyn said, "When Kellie went to see the doctor's they seriously thought she had cancer and was dying. She apparently thought she had some type of procedure so she couldn't have any more kids. They found out after she escaped her kidnapper, she was actually pregnant and that the procedure was never done."

"That's insane," Oscar said. "I'm glad Kellie isn't dying of cancer."

"I shouldn't have brought that up," Josslyn said, "considering that…"

"He's dying of cancer," Danny said, "Nice move, Joss."

"Joss, it's fine," Oscar said, "I want to hear all about your family and all the crazy stuff that happens. Besides maybe Danny here could think about cutting his Dad and stepmom some slack for contributing to the world's population now that he knows his new sibling was the surprise of the year to both of them."

"I'll think about it," Danny said, "Do you happen to why my stepmom's procedure wasn't done?"

"I don't know for sure," Josslyn said, "I don't think anyone else does, but it sounds like Helena Cassadine may have had something to do with it."

"Isn't the dingbat dead already?" Danny asked, "Did she haunt Kellie from the grave to do that?"

"It is Helena Cassadine," Josslyn said, "Who knows?"

"Who is this Helena Cassadine?" Oscar asked.

"You have a lot to learn," Trina said, entering the room with Cameron in tow.

"I've got time," Oscar said.

"Don't say we didn't warn you," Cameron said, stealing the bag of chips.

"You asked for it." Josslyn said as they proceeded to tell Oscar what they knew of the Cassadine history.

**General Hospital**

Outside Lorenzo's room, Kellie ran into Shiloh.

"Kellie, It's good to see that you're looking well," Shiloh said, "Especially after what you and your daughter went through. How is Alyssa?"

"She's fine," Kellie said, considering brushing Shiloh off, but she decided to let him think he was chatting her up.

"I ran into your father-in-law a few nights ago," Shiloh said, "when Alyssa was brought in. I thought maybe Dawn of Day might be able to help Alyssa. He didn't seem too interested. But I'm sure you've heard plenty from Kristina and Sam. It might benefit you as well."

"I have the world's leading specialists in this type of trauma at my disposal," Kellie said, "Now if you'll excuse me I have an appointment with one of those specialists."

"Well Alyssa might find traditional methods stifling to her healing," Shiloh said, "Perhaps we might discuss this over lunch or dinner."

"I already told you no once," Kellie said as Johnny moved closer to her, "And that I need to leave."

"I just thought you would be open to anything that could help your daughter," Shiloh said.

"Back off, Shank," Johnny said, standing next to Kellie. Johnny touched her shoulder as if to hold her back.

"Is this really necessary?" Shiloh said.

"Yes," Johnny said, "Kellie told you her wishes. I expect you'll respect them as of now. Oh and I better not ever see you within 20 feet of her or her children ever again."

"That seems extreme," Shiloh said, "I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need your help," Kellie said.

"Kellie, what are you doing?" Kristina asked, "Why does your guard look like he's about to attack Shiloh?"


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Note: Updates may still be slow for a bit. I haven't had as much time to write still and I'm trying to figure out how I want to address some of the elements from the actual show that don't necessarily fit with this story. **

"I'm late for an appointment which he's detaining me from," Kellie said, hoping to avoid a confrontation with Kristina, "I will call you later unless you plan on stopping by Dante and Lulu's."

Kellie hugged Kristina and turned to leave.

"If you change your mind," Shiloh said, "My offer to help Alyssa still stands."

"Kellie that's a great idea," Kristina said, "I think you should consider…"

Kellie turned around, "I will say this one more time, the answer is no."

"Just hear Shiloh out," Kristina said.

"It can't hurt what do you have to lose," Shiloh said.

"The last time I checked, Mr. Archer, you were not licensed or specialized in counseling children dealing with traumatic events," Kellie said, "You will not be treating my daughter now or ever."

Kellie turned around, leaving as Johnny trailed behind her.

Kellie and Johnny were standing outside Neil's office.

"Have you ever just wanted to pummel someone, Johnny?" Kellie asked, "Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to wipe that smirk off Shiloh's face?"

""The look on Shiloh's face when you told him he wasn't trained was priceless."" Johnny said.

"I had to leave Kristina with him and not say a word about him being connected to Garrett," Kellie said, "So I don't tip him off."

"You've got this," Johnny said, "I frankly don't understand what all those Dawnies see in him."

Neil opened his office door looking for Kellie.

"Are you Kellie Corinthos-Morgan?" Neil asked.

"Guilty as charged," Kellie said, "I take it you're Dr. Byrne."

"Yes, Come on in," Neil said holding the door open, "Is your uhh guy here joining us?"

"Bodyguard," Kellie said, "And no, he'll stay outside the door."

"Inside Neil's office, Kellie and Neil both took a seat.

"What brings you here today?" Neil asked.

"My daughter," Kellie replied, "Alyssa Scott, She was brought in the other night after being kidnapped and…."

"Seeing you kidnapped," Neil said, "Among other things."

"I was hoping you could you might be able to tell me how I can best help her cope with everything," Kellie said, "Obviously the child psychologists that will work with her will have to something. But since you saw her initially..."

"The truth is is Mrs. Morgan," Neil said, "You can't help your daughter. Not in the way you're asking. The best thing you do is work with the specialists she'll be seeing. They'll let you know if there's anything you need to be doing. Let them do their job while you deal with your own trauma."

"That's not quite what I was expecting," Kellie said.

"Your daughter wasn't the only one that suffered a trauma that day," Neil said, "You did too. You can't help your daughter unless you take of yourself first. Otherwise you risk hindering your daughter's healing and your own."

Kellie didn't respond right away.

"I don't mean to be harsh if it seems that way," Neil said.

"You're not," Kellie said, "Because I know you're right. With everything that's gone on I haven't wanted to think about that part of it. Or keep pretending it doesn't exist so I don't go insane."

"It's understandable given everything you and your daughter have been through.," Neil said. The two continued to talk until it was time for Kellie to leave.

"Thank you," Kellie said, getting up, "Especially for saying what I needed to hear and not what I wanted to hear."

"Your daughter will be just fine," Neil said, "I suspect she'll be better than fine. It sounds like she's got you and plenty of good people in her corner. She'll bounce back eventually. You both will."

**Dante and Lulu's**

Later, Kellie was at Dante and Lulu's waiting with everyone else to throw Dante a surprise party.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kellie asked Olivia, "Dante just came back from undercover work that…"

"It's not like this is the first time, Dante's done undercover work," Olivia said, "He needs to see his family and know that we support him."

"I just don't know that surprising him is…" Kellie said, she was cut off by the door opening and people cheering.

Kellie watched as Dante looked taken aback and startled, but he quickly recovered

Before Kellie left, she managed to pull Dante off to the side.

"How are you doing, really?" Kellie asked.

"I'm good," Dante said brushing everything off.

"And that's why you looked about ready to jump out of your skin when you showed up to your apartment," Kellie replied, "to unexpected company and loud noises."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dante said.

"That would probably work on almost everyone else," Kellie said, "But you forget I used to be an undercover agent too. You might have most of our family fooled, but I know you're not okay."

"I've got it handled," Dante said, "You have enough on your plate."

"Dante, I'm just saying I'm here to talk if you need to," Kellie said, "If you don't talk to me, then talk to somebody."

"You're worrying too much," Dante said.

"Just promise me you'll talk to someone," Kellie said, "Take it from someone who's been there."

"Don't you have three, actually now four kids to worry over?" Dante asked, "Speaking of which did you see the doctors since you got back? Make sure you and my new niece or nephew are fine."

"This morning actually," Kellie said, "Everyone's healthy. And I'm glad you're home by the way. But I do have to go home and rescue Charles from whatever shenanigans the kids are up to."

"Give the little munchkins my best," Dante said, hugging, "And you just focus on them and yourself, I've got everything handled."

Kellie looked at Dante skeptically, "I'll just pretend I buy that for now."

**The Dawn of Day House**

Shiloh was by himself when his phone rang.

"Garrett," Shiloh said, "I'm actually surprised to hear from you. I would have figured that your phone access would be limited."

"I have my ways," Garrett said, "Look the feds raided and froze everything. I need you to enact our emergency plan right away

"It's too risky," Shiloh said, "Let your high-priced attorney get you out of this."

"I don't have that kind of time," Garrett said, "I need to be able to hold up my end of the operations."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you let your obsession with Kellie Corinthos jeopardize everything we've been working towards," Shiloh said, "I have my hands full enough as it is making sure Dawn of Day can stand on its own without your help. I'm being forced to rely on other means of staying afloat."

"What other means could you possibly have?" Garrett asked, "I remember when I met you."

"My other means are not your concern," Shiloh said, "Look, you're just going to have to sit tight. Maybe reconsider some of your life choices, remember what's important, and quit focusing solely on Kellie Corinthos."

"She ruined my family," Garrett said.

"And Sam McCall did the same to me," Shiloh said, "But you don't see me veering outside the plan."

"That's easy to say when she seems to be walking right into your cult," Garrett said.

"It's not a cult," Shiloh said, "But what I'm saying is maybe if you had stuck to the original plan, you might have actually gotten revenge against Kellie Corinthos instead of these pathetic failing attempts that you've had."

"I'd choose your words carefully," Garrett said, "I'd hate for them to be your last."

"If you hadn't just called me for assistance with your situation," Shiloh said, "I might actually be scared."

**Kellie & Jason's house**

After Kellie put the kids to bed, she found Jason at the pool table.

"How did things go with Danny and Jake today?" Kellie asked, grabbing a pool cue.

"It went okay," Jason said, racking the balls, "But it could have been worse."

"Let me guess Danny didn't take it well," Kellie said.

"He disappeared upstairs," Jason said, "After telling me since he doesn't ever come here, the baby was of no concern to him."

"I'm sorry," Kellie said, "It's not like we didn't expect him to be happy about it. It's just I know that it's been rough for you with him. Especially when he runs hot and cold with you. You never know if he's going to cancel on you either."

"It was fun spending time with both him and Jake," Jason said, motioning for Kellie to break "And Danny has the right to his feelings."

"I don't begrudge him that all," Kellie said, lining up her shot, "But how long does he get a free pass on his behavior."

Kellie broke the balls, a solid color going into the corner pocket.

"He has been through a lot," Jason said.

"I tried to use that excuse with Alyssa," Kellie said, taking another shot, sinking another ball, "She ran away and ended up kidnapped last year. Danny did runaway to Niagara falls. What if he tries to take off again?"

Kellie missed her third shot. Jason lined up to take his shot.

"You have a very valid point," Jason said, "But I'm at a loss as to what to do about it. When I came back, Danny was rightfully confused considering everyone thought Drew was me. I'm still trying to earn his respect back."

"I have not made that any easier," Kellie said, "I hate that our relationship has made things more difficult for you with Danny."

Jason sunk his second shot.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Jason said, "Hopefully he'll realize that life isn't always fair and he'll eventually come around."

"I hope so," Kellie said, moving closer to Jason as he lined up his third shot. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"That's not going to work," Jason said.

"Says the man it's worked on every time I've tried it," Kellie said, leaning against the table, near his arm.

Jason reposition his aim, putting his arms on either side of her. He kissed her, catching her off guard. Jason took the shot and sunk another ball.

"You were saying," Jason said.

"That won't happen again," Kellie said.

"How did things go with Finn and Dr Byrne?" Jason asked, missing his next shot.

Kellie rolled her eyes, knowing he missed on purpose.

"They told me not be so hard on myself," Kellie said, lining up her shot "To let her doctors worry about her trauma and for me focus on mine. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but he had a point."

Kellie made the next shots and lined up a third shot as Jason leaned over her.

"You're going to miss," Jason said, "You need to move slightly to the left."

Kellie took the shot without adjusting and missed.

"I told you," Jason said, cracking a smile.

"Just wait," Kellie said.

"How did things go with the party for Dante?" Jason asked, lining up the next shot.

"Turns out it was a surprise party," Kellie said, "Which was not a good idea considering Dante just came back from some rough undercover work."

He didn't hurt anyone did he?" Jason asked.

"No, he was pretty startled," Kellie said, "He covered. I don't think anyone else noticed. What made you ask if he hurt someone?"

Jason stopped playing pool and looked at Kellie realizing he'd been busted.

"What aren't you telling me?" Kellie asked.

"At the MetroCourt earlier today, one of the staff dropped and broke something," Jason replied, "It made a loud noise like gunfire or an explosion. Dante was there and he startled. He grabbed a knife. I had to talk him down. I don't even think he knew where he was or what was actually going on."

"And you're just now telling me this," Kellie asked.

"I didn't want to worry you," Jason said, "And I'm glad that party didn't scare Dante too badly. If I'd known it was a surprise party though I'd have said something sooner."

"You can't protect me from everything," Kellie said, "It's not like I don't know something is off with him. He won't talk to me. I can't figure out what bothers me about it."

Jason took Kellie's pool cue and set both cues on the table, "Let's think this through. Dante just came back from an undercover mission where he had to be rescued from. Not mention he went rogue and the WSB couldn't be actively involved in the search for him when he dropped off the radar. Like Dante, you were an undercover agent yourself. I think the question is what did you encounter while you were undercover that makes you think of how your brother is now."

"There were a couple of small busts with other agents in Europe to start with," Kellie said, "After that was the case you and Luke helped me with."

"The stolen brainwashing program," Jason said, "which we later found out belonged to Helena Cassadine and Helena tried to use on you."

"But she couldn't and neither could whoever stole it when they tried it on me," Kellie said, "I had to spend time in one of the WSB facilities where they dealt with that kind of thing. And the people that were in the beginning stages of treatment there, the ones that were brainwashed, they had this hollow look in their eyes. The same look Dante has."

Kellie slammed her hands down on the pool table.

Jason wrapped his arms around Kellie and whispered, "It's okay."

"No it's not, Jason," Kellie said, "Not when I think Dante was exposed to some kind of brainwashing."

"You and the WSB deprogrammed Alexis years ago," Jason said, "Is it possible that.."

"I don't know," Kellie said, "Alexis didn't have that vacant look. I don't know what type of programming could have been used on Dante….and…."

"And what," Jason said.

"The patients at the facility with the vacant look," Kellie said, "They didn't fair well even with treatment. The whole process is brutal. If Dante doesn't think he's brainwashed and it turns out he is, it'll be that much harder."

"Well it's late," Jason said, "And you're not going to solve it tonight. Why don't you sleep on it and figure out what to do in the morning. Maybe call Robert or Anna. They might have an idea."

"Actually I should call Scorpio now," Kellie said, "I promised I would if I came up with something. Sorry to interrupt our game."

"We can finish later," Jason said.

"I'll make it up to you after I call Scorpio," Kellie said, kissing Jason, before leaving the room.


	36. Chapter 36

Kellie went to the study to call Robert Scorpio.

"Kind of late for a phone call isn't, Kellie," Robert said.

"You wanted me to call you if I came up with anything on Dante," Kellie said, "I might have an idea…but I don't know for sure."

"Look about that," Robert said.

Kellie ignored him and kept speaking, "I think he might have been brainwashed or someone tried to…he has that same vacant look some of the patients I encountered at the facility years ago dead."

"We already know, Kellie," Robert said, "I'm guessing Dante hasn't been in touch with you today."

"I saw him this afternoon," Kellie said, "He didn't mention anything about…."

"Your brother apparently reached out to Anna earlier today about making sure he wouldn't hurt anybody," Robert said, "I found out a couple hours ago, Dante's leaving tonight for the facility. In fact he's probably already gone."

"Dante's leaving without telling anybody," Kellie said.

"I'm not sure how much Dante's explaining to anyone," Robert said, "I'm sorry if this is coming as a shock."

"I wish I'd thought of this sooner," Kellie said.

"None of us had any reason to believe brainwashing was a factor in this instance," Robert said, "At least Dante was able to figure it out, so he could get help."

"I guess at least I'll be able to explain it to everyone," Kellie said, "Or at least try."

"I assume you remember the drill," Robert said, "You won't be able to have any contact with Dante."

"I remember," Kellie said.

When Jason came looking for Kellie, he found her still sitting in the study.

"Hey, what happened?" Jason asked, realizing something was wrong.

"Dante left," Kellie said, "Robert said he's already on his way to one of those facilities to get treated for brainwashing."

"Did the WSB figure it out and take him or..?"Jason asked.

"Dante did," Kellie said, "He asked Anna to arrange for.…"

Jason took Kellie's hand, urging her follow him, "Come on."

"I want to call Lulu," Kellie said, "But I don't know what to tell her to what to do for her."

"Lulu may not want to see anyone right now," Jason said, "Knowing Lulu, she probably reached out to Laura when Dante left if she reached out to anyone."

"You're right," Kellie said, making a call.

"Hello," Laura answered, "Kellie?"

"Have you talked to Lulu like in the last few hours?" Kellie asked.

"She called me something about Dante leaving," Laura said, "I'm on my way over to her place now."

"Good," Kellie said.

"Do you have any idea why Dante would leave her like this," Laura asked, "Did he give you an explanation?"

"He didn't. The only reason I know Dante left is because I'd called Robert Scorpio not that long ago about Dante," Kellie said, "I knew something wasn't right with Dante when he came back. I finally figured it out, but obviously not soon enough."

What exactly do you think is up with Dante?" Laura asked.

"I think he may have been subjected to brainwashing," Kellie said, "There was a case when I worked for the WSB involving a stolen brainwashing program. During the mission, I came into contact with people that had been subjected to the program. The more extreme cases remind me of Dante. From what Robert told me, it seems Dante and the WSB believe the same. Dante's on his way to a special facility for treatment."

"What type of treatment?" Laura asked, "Do you know how long he'll be gone?"

"Honestly I have no idea," Kellie said, "But the facility they're sending him to means he won't have contact with anybody for as long as it takes."

"In your experience with these types of things, how long does it take roughly to deprogram someone?" Laura asked.

"I'm not sure," Kellie said, "Best case scenario months if he's lucky. Worst case, it could be years if at all. I wish I had a better answer."

"It's more information than we had five minutes ago," Laura said, "I'm glad you called me."

"I wanted to call Lulu but I didn't know if she even knew Dante had left," Kellie said, "I'll call her as soon as I get off the phone with you and…"

"I'll explain to Lulu what you told me tonight," Laura said, "She can call you later with any questions. I know you and Dante are very close and that him leaving like this isn't easy for you either."

"I tried to talk to him, get him to open up to me," Kellie said, "But he wouldn't."

"I'm sure you did everything you could," Laura said, "I'm pulling into Lulu's driveway now. If I were you, I'd let that husband of yours take care of you and worry about this whole mess with your brother another day."

"That's easier said than done," Kellie said.

"Just try," Laura said, "If you hear anything more about Dante will you let me know."

"Of course," Kellie said, "Tell Lulu that… I don't even know."

"I'll tell her you're thinking of her," Laura said.

After they ended the call, Jason took the phone from Kellie.

"I take it Lulu knows," he said.

"That he left," Kellie said, "But it doesn't seem like Dante offered any explanation for why. Laura said she'd explain. Thank god, because I wouldn't even know where to start."

"What do you need?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Kellie said, "Dante's gone and I don't know if he's ever coming back. If he does, I don't know if he'll be the brother I…."

Kellie trailed off and then spoke again, "When Dante went to work for the WSB, this was not any of my worst fears for him. This just might be worst one of all."

"Then we just have to hope for the best," Jason said as Kellie leaned back against him.

Jason nudged Kellie in the direction of out of the study.

"That better not be your not so subtle hint that I should go to bed," Kellie said.

"I didn't say anything," Jason said, "But now that you mention it, it is late. You've had a long day and…"

"Don't you dare add that I'm pregnant," Kellie said.

"You're the one that brought it up and I did have other things in mind," Jason said, whispering in her ear and kissing Kellie's neck.

"Nice save," Kellie said.

"If you are too tired…" Jason said, "we don't have to."

Kellie turned around to face Jason and kissed him, hard and long.

Kellie pushed Jason out of the study as he kissed her back. Jason picked Kellie up and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.

**The Next Day**

Kellie was on the phone trying to reach the foundation's Rescue Operations Coordinator who had failed to return any of her calls. His secretary insisted her calls would be returned at the Coordinator's discretion.

"He's had several days to return my call," Kellie said, "I'd like a meeting with him."

"He has nothing for at least a month," Kathleen said.

"This is a time-sensitive matter I'd like to discuss with him," Kellie said, "And it pertains to work the foundation has done related to Garrett Esoterra."

"That operation is closed," Kathleen said, "Since NCIS arrested him and his other associates."

"There are some other potential associates I would suggest we look into," Kellie said.

"I have nothing for at least a month," Kathleen said.

"He's got twenty-four hours to return my calls," Kellie said.

"If he doesn't return your call," Kathleen said.

"I'll camp out in his office," Kellie said, "Have a nice day." She hung up the phone.

Olivia came into Kellie's living room, "You have to do something about Dante."

"I take it you've heard then," Kellie said.

"That your brother left Lulu and the kids," Olivia said, "Because he believes he's some kind of danger which is utter nonsense. You used to work for the WSB, can't you find him and talk some sense into him. That he should be working through his issues at home with his family."

"Olivia, I can't even contact him," Kellie said, "Even if I wanted to."

"You mean Robert or Anna can't arrange for you to see him or call him," Olivia said.

"Robert already told me this was a no contact situation," Kellie said, "Dante wouldn't talk to me when I tried before he left. Even I could get in touch with Dante, he probably wouldn't talk to me anyway."

"The WSB doesn't know what Dante needs," Olivia said.

"Olivia, brainwashing isn't something you just go to a therapist once a week to fix," Kellie said, "Not like this."

"Are you saying Dante's been brainwashed?" Sonny said, entering the room, "That doesn't even make sense."

"Dad, come on," Kellie said, "You can't tell me that you hadn't noticed Dante isn't completely himself."

"It can't be any different than when you came back from working from the WSB and were getting therapy," Sonny said.

"For issues that stemmed from being raped long before that," Kellie said, "None of my undercover missions turned out quite like Dante's either. Some dudes did try to brainwash me, but couldn't. The WSB found me before they could try anything else."

"Then tell me what is this treatment center like?" Olivia asked, "What kind of help are they going to give Dante."

"Is it like when you had to help undo Alexis's brainwashing?" Sonny asked.

"Honestly, I don't know the answer to either of those questions," Kellie said, "All I can say if Dante experienced brainwashing, the WSB facility is probably the best place for him right now."

"I don't like this," Olivia said, "But I guess I have to accept it. But if you hear anything about Dante, you call me."

"Of course, I will," Kellie said, "I want Dante to come home too."

"I know you do, Sweetheart," Olivia said, hugging Kellie, "i have to get back to the MetroCourt."

"Have you seen Lulu?" Kellie asked, "I haven't had a chance to stop by yet."

"She's doing as well as can be expected," Olivia said, stepping back. She looked back and forth between Sonny and Kellie, "If I leave the two of you alone, are going to play nice?"

"I make no promises," Kellie said, "and the kids are at school."

Olivia looked at Sonny when he didn't answer.

"I always play nice," Sonny said.

Olivia opened her mouth to respond and then thought the better.

"You know what," Olivia said, "I've said my piece. The rest is up to you too."

"How bad is it really? What didn't you want to say to Olivia?" Sonny asked once Olivia left.

"Who says I have anything more to say?" Kellie said, "Besides don't you have some alleged godfather business to attend to?"

Sonny shook his head, exasperated "You had to bring out the verbal bullets already."

"I'm still mad at you," Kellie said, "And like I said, I really don't know anything else."

"And I know you have a talent for telling the truth while simultaneously managing to leave things out," Sonny said, "You don't get a free pass on this one. I can't help Dante if I don't know what we're up against."

"I don't know if any one can help Dante, Dad," Kellie replied.

"What about the WSB? You said they have specialists and a facility for this type of thing," Sonny said, "What happened to it's the best place your brother could be?"

"It still is," Kellie said, "If they can't cure Dante, they can…they can contain him at least."

"You really think Dante might be that bad?" Sonny asked.

Kellie didn't reply.

Sonny touched Kellie's shoulder gently, "Do you think your brother might really end up there indefinitely."

"It's possible," Kellie said, reluctantly.

"What makes you think that?" Sonny asked, "I know you had some case with the WSB involving brainwashing but it's not like you would have been around…"

"I've been to the facility they're sending Dante to," Kellie said, "And I came across some of the more extreme cases. Something about Dante since he came back reminds me of them."

Sonny wanted to argue, but something in Kellie's expression stopped him. Sonny noticed Kellie's hand had moved and was positioned protectively across her abdomen.

"What am I doing, you should be sitting, resting," Sonny said, "Is the baby the okay?"

"The baby's fine," Kellie said as Sonny insisted she sit on the couch.

"Do you need me to get you some water…." Sonny asked.

"I'm fine," Kellie said.

"Are you sure?" Sonny said.

"Dad, I just…I was just thinking about how much I wish I could protect this little one from ever having to experience anything bad," Kellie said, "I know it's not possible but…."

"It's what every parent wants for their kids," Sonny said, "I know you'll do the best that you can to make this one is as safe and loved and happy as the boys and Alyssa."

"Damn hormones," Kellie said, getting teary-eyed, "And why do you have to go and say the right things. I'm still mad at you about the whole guard situation."

"I'm going to make it up to you," Sonny said, "I promise."

"Until the next time," Kellie said, "That you think you don't need security and then one of us pays the price."

"I know I've broken your trust more times than I want to admit when it comes to keeping you and the rest of our family safe," Sonny said, "But I promise you that's changing. My lapse in judgment almost cost me you, Alyssa, and your new little one, and Carly and our baby."

"Is everything okay in here?" Jason asked, entering the room.

"It's just hormones," Kellie said, wiping the tears and standing up, "I'm going to see how Lulu's doing. I think I answered all your questions about Dante."

Sonny nodded, "Tell Lulu I'm thinking about her and give Rocco a hug from me."

"Sure, but I'm sure he's at school still," Kellie said. She turned her attention to Jason and kissed him before leaving.

"Let me know you made to Lulu's," Jason said, "Do you want me to pick the kids up from school."

"I'll pick them up after I see Lulu," Kellie said, "And take them to Kellie's for milkshakes."

"Was Kellie just upset about Dante," Jason asked Sonny after Kellie left, "Or did the two of you get into it?"

"She's still mad at me for not having guards on Carly," Sonny said, "I've told her that I'm fixing that, but she is struggling to believe it. Who can blame her? I've promised her time and time again I'd do everything to make her feel safe here and I've obviously screwed that up repeatedly."

"She's going to need time, Sonny," Jason said, "And to see that you mean what you've promised."

"Cause the words are empty at this point to her," Sonny said. Sonny let out a deep breathe, "And she and the baby are doing okay?"

"Yeah," Jason said, "They're both fine."

"What about her nausea?" Sonny asked, "The medications helping her with that."

"She's back to feeling decent over all," Jason said.

"And the ordeal with Garrett," Sonny asked, "How's she doing with that?"

"One day at a time," Jason said, "She wants to hold on to and enjoy the good stuff even with everything else going on."

"Good," Sonny said, "Look if I haven't said already, I'm sorry for how hard I was on you when you and Kellie said you were becoming more than friends. As much as I hate to admit it, I was wrong about the two of you being together. After Tyler died, I was so afraid she'd get lost in the grief and wouldn't find her way back out. But seeing her face light up when you walked in the room just now, I know that's not the case. What I'm trying to say after watching the two of you, you've both been good for each other, and that I'm happy for both of you."


	37. Chapter 37

Laura answered the door when Kellie arrived at Lulu's.

"I thought you might stop by today," Laura said.

"Is she up for company?" Kellie asked, holding a grocery bag, "If she's not, I can stop by another time."

"I'm sure she'll be glad to see you," Laura said, opening the door wider for Kellie to enter, "Your timing couldn't be more perfect, I have some mayor related business to take care of."

Kellie stepped inside to see Lulu laying on the couch, her face tear-stained. Kellie's eyes immediately teared up in response.

Kellie took a deep breathe trying to get her tears under control, "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be making you feel better and not crying my eyes out here."

Lulu moved to make room for Kellie on the couch.

"I'd say you're both entitled to more than a few tears for Dante," Laura said, grabbing her purse, "I'm going to go take care of a few things and then I'll be back."

Kellie curled up on the corner of couch, next to Lulu. She pulled a couple of ice cream bars out of the bag and handed one to Lulu. Lulu absentmindedly began eating it.

"I assumed your mom told you that I talked to her last night," Kellie said.

Lulu nodded, "You think Dante's brainwashed and Robert Scorpio confirmed it. Would have been nice if Dante could have explained it me himself. But he just told me he had to leave because he was afraid he would hurt me and the kids. No explanation."

"Remind me to kick Dante's butt when I get chance to do that for being an idiot about that," Kellie said.

"Do you think he'll come back to us?" Lulu asked.

"With the right treatment…." Kellie started to replied.

"Don't sugar coat it, okay?" Lulu said.

"It's hard to say," Kellie said, "Even if he does I think it's going to take a long time."

"I was really hoping for a better answer," Lulu said.

"It's not the answer I want to give anyone," Kellie said, "I wish I could have figured it out sooner, but I don't know that it would have changed anything either."

"He still would have had to go away," Lulu said,

"Yeah," Kellie said, "We just might not have been blindsided by him leaving."

"I don't even know what I"m supposed to do about telling Rocco," Lulu said, "Or about our life and marriage at all. Dante just left and I can't even communicate with him to make decisions together."

"Dante meant well, Lulu," Kellie said, "i know that doesn't make it feel any better. He was making the best decision he thought he could to protect you and kids. I can't defend how he handled it, but I understand it. I hurt my siblings and Tyler pushing them away because I thought I was too dangerous to be around them. I made decisions to leave without their input or telling them because I thought it was better that way. I went as far faking my death at one point."

"Do you think Dante feels desperate?" Lulu asked.

"Yeah, I do," Kellie said, "He's trying to get away as fast as possible before the danger he feels he is puts someone in jeopardy. And that any hurt feelings if he's even considering that are worth keeping the ones we love physically safe. Unfortunately, Dante and I seem to share each other's worst traits sometimes. That apparently is one of them."

"Dante really didn't say anything to you about any of this?" Lulu asked.

"He didn't," Kellie said, "Believe me I tried to get him to open up for me or someone. This wasn't what I had in mind when I told him to get help."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"I got it," Kellie said, getting up from the couch. She opened the door to find Maxie standing on the other side.

"Oh good, you're here," Maxie said, marching in, "This saves me from having to track you down later. But first things first…"

Maxie marched just past Kellie, stopped, and then turned around to look at Kellie, "Wait a minute."

"About what?" Kellie asked, shutting the door.

Maxie turned Kellie back around to look at her.

"What is it, Maxie?" Kellie said, "Did I sprout horns since you saw me yesterday or something?"

"I'm trying to figure out how I missed it," Maxie said.

"Missed what?" Kellie replied.

Maxie moved closer to Kellie. She pulled Kellie's slightly loose shirt tight against her stomach, making the outward curve obvious.

"That," Maxie said, "looks suspiciously like the beginnings of a baby bump, Miss I Couldn't Get Pregnant Even If I Wanted To. I'm pretty sure that bun had to be in the oven when told me you couldn't have kids."

"How did you not know Kellie was pregnant?" Lulu said, "Where were you yesterday?"

"Obviously not in any conversation involving the words "Kellie" and "pregnant"," Maxie said, "Why didn't you send me at least a text to tell me or something?"

"I have no idea at this point who does and doesn't know," Kellie said, moving Maxie's hands off of her shirt, "Half of Port Charles probably knew before I did that my tubes were never actually tied and said bun was probably in the oven."

"And she only found out in the last week," Lulu said.

"Those jeans obviously don't fit you anymore," Maxie said, "Stop wearing them. I don't care if you are using a hair tie."

"Didn't Sam bring you some of her old maternity clothes?" Lulu asked.

"For when I need them," Kellie said, "The hair tie still works. My pregnancy and rapidly expanding waistline are beside the point at the moment. Lulu and my well-meaning but idiot brother are what's important right now."

Maxie pulled out her phone and texting, "First things, I need to call in reinforcements since both of you are a mess right now. Lulu with Dante leaving and you with your weird denial of how pregnant you actually are."

"I'm going to go get something to drink out of the kitchen," Kellie said, rolling her eyes at Maxie, "Does anybody want anything?"

"Nope," Maxie said, "I already told Sage and Sam to bring some wine. Actually on second thought maybe we should take you shopping. It might take Lulu's mind off Dante."

"Carly already called dibs on shopping with Kellie for maternity clothes. I wouldn't get in the middle of that one if I were you," Lulu said, "Carly's pregnant too if you hadn't heard."

Maxie's jaw dropped.

Kellie walked off to the kitchen without another word, leaving Lulu and Maxie to talk.

When she came back out, Maxie turned to look at her, "I've got this figured out. You need to do whatever it takes to talk to Dante and convince him to come home to Lulu and his family. If the WSB tells you no, you keep calling and asking until they give in."

"That's not happening," Kellie said.

"You're the one with the best connections to make it happen," Maxie said.

"It's a no contact situation, Maxie," Kellie said, "I'm not going to screw up Dante's treatment by forcing my way into talking to him."

Maxie started to protest as there was a knock at the door,

"No," Kellie said, getting the door, "That discussion is over. I better not hear anything about you trying to interfere with Dante's treatment."

"What discussion is over?" Sage asked as she and Sam entered.

"Anything involving me going against WSB protocol for treating victims of brainwashing," Kellie said.

"Who was brainwashed?" Sam asked.

"Dante," Kellie said, "That's why he left, to get treatment."

"That explains why Lulu needs us," Sage said, "But Maxie's text indicated you were part of her SOS."

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"Maxie thinks using a hair tie to fasten my jeans at this point in my pregnancy constitutes a fashion emergency," Kellie said.

"As long you can still fasten the hair tie, I don't think there's a fashion emergency," Sam said.

"Thank you," Kellie said, feeling vindicated.

"But you are like kind of showing," Sage said, "Or starting to. Even compared to yesterday when I saw you, you look like you're starting to round out."

"Sage," Sam exclaimed

"But maybe it's just the clothes you're wearing," Sage quickly tried to counter.

"We're not talking about my pregnancy," Kellie said, trying to hold her composure, "Even if I am little freaked out because I only just found out and I'm already spilling out of my clothes. I can worry about that later."

"You're more than a little freaked out," Maxie said, facing Kellie and staring her right in the eye, "How long did it take you fasten said hair tie this morning?"

"That's irrelevant," Kellie said.

"A few seconds, a minute or two, five minutes," Maxie continued, "or more, forcing the hair tie to stretch a just little more. Or better yet, did you break any hair ties?"

Kellie's jaw twitched as Maxie hit a nerve.

"Maxie, enough," Sam said,dragging Maxie out of the room into the kitchen, "Kellie can figure out on her own wardrobe. Now let's go get some wine glasses."

"She means well," Lulu said, apologetically.

"Can we just focus on something else right now?" Kellie said, "Please."

"We could," Lulu said, "But talking about your bundle of joy was a good distraction. And there's no rule that says only one of us at time gets to have issues, problems, or whatever."

"I'm starting to wonder when did you figure out you were pregnant," Sage said, "i mean I assumed it was a surprise when you got to the hospital and they or Jason told you after you were rescued."

"In the cabin," Kellie said, quietly.

**Meanwhile, in the kitchen…**

"So how is it that no one thought to inform me that Kellie's in the family way," Maxie said.

"Sage and I just found out in the last two days," Sam said, "With everything else that's been going on that's pretty low on our list of things to worry about. Not mention, Kellie just found out herself about the pregnancy. So pointing out that she's already starting to show probably not the best idea even if you are trying to help. Kellie didn't even think she could get pregnant. She thought she'd made sure of it. She gets to be freaked out and use the hair ties as long as she can manage it."

"About the not thinking she could get pregnant," Maxie asked, "What was up with that?"

"Rumor has it Helena paid someone off not to tie her tubes," Sam said, "But they're still looking into it. Considering that nothing came of that when she was married to Tyler…"

"I guess I could see how that might be shock during your second marriage," Maxie said.

"You think," Sam said, "And come to think of it, have you even talked to Liesl since she was rescued. I'm surprised she didn't say something to you about all this. She was with Kellie. It's assumed she was kidnapped to treat Kellie's illness which we now know is severe morning sickness."

"It might have gotten lost her German filled description of how dumb she thought Kellie was," Maxie said, "Which for the life of me didn't make sense at all. But now that I think about it, if Liesl knew Kellie was pregnant and Kellie was denying it in the cabin. I guess somebody did tell me and I missed it in the different languages and between how good looking she thought some Agent Jibbs was."

By this time Sam and grabbed the wine glasses and poured four glasses of wine and a glass of sparkling cider.

"Do you think you lay off the talk about Kellie's clothing," Sam said.

"I'll try," Maxie said, "But if she's still trying this in a week, I might have to stage an intervention."

"Maxie," Sam said, "What are we going to do with you?"

"Drink wine?" Maxie said, grabbing some of the glasses.

Once they returned to the living room, they heard Kellie explaining how she'd suspected she was pregnant in the cabin.

"That's a lot for anybody to take in," Sage said as Maxie and Sam handed the wine and cider glasses out.

"That's not even considering you didn't think having more kids was even an option," Sam said, "and you were thinking you had cancer instead."

"That is definitely one giant roller coaster of up and downs to deal with," Maxie said, " and I'm sorry about making you feel uncomfortable about having another kid."

"It's not your fault I'd hoped a get couple more weeks out of the hair ties," Kellie said, "And that starting show means I don't have that much time to get ready for another kid in the middle of everything else. I already failed at protecting her once by."

"I don't even want to hear you utter the words it's your fault you ended up in the cabin," Lulu said, "And neither would Dante."

"But it's the truth," Kellie said, "I have so much more to worry about this time around with threats and everything. I can't guarantee I can even protect myself in my condition right now."

"And you have plenty of people to help you," Sage said.

"Including us," Lulu said, "You did move back to Port Charles so we could all help you."

"What kind of mom does it make me when one hand the thought of having another kid freaks me out while I am simultaneously grateful I don't have cancer and terrified something will happen to her," Kellie said.

"A normal mom," Maxie said, "You're not first parent to be freaked out about having a kid. It doesn't mean you love her any less. Wait, are you and Jason having a girl?"

"I don't know actually," Kellie said, "It just slipped out."

"Actually you do need another girl to balance out the testosterone in your house," Maxie said.

"You and Alyssa are currently outnumbered," Sage said.

"Can we please change the subject now?" Kellie said, "I'm over all the baby talk at the moment."

"Fair enough," Sam said.

"Which means we can discuss Lulu…" Maxie and.

"You know I really don't want to talk about my problems any more right now," Lulu said.

"That's why we're here," Maxie said.

"How's Lorenzo and Francis?" Lulu asked.

"You can't dodge," Maxie said, but was interrupted by Sam and Sage answering Lulu's question.


	38. Chapter 38

**_A couple days later_**

Jason found Kellie laying on the bed struggling to fasten her jeans with the hair tie. Jason glanced at the bag of clothes Sam had left for Kellie.

"Wouldn't it be easier to use some of the clothes Sam left you?" He asked her.

Kellie groaned, throwing her hands back above her head, "Not you too."

Jason looked at her puzzled.

"One word…Maxie," Kellie said.

"I don't need anymore information than that," Jason said as Kellie moved from the bed and stood in front of the mirror.

"I'm not ready for this," Kellie said, taking in the changes the pregnancy had already had on her body.

"What exactly aren't you ready for?" Jason asked, coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, and kissing her neck.

"Needing new clothes, at least the pants," Kellie said, turning to look at Jason, "Hell, I'm not ready for anything that goes with having another kid. I want more time to wrap my head around the idea of having a baby before having to buy new clothes and the baby growing enough that it's obvious and the bump starts feeling real. And I'd like to not be an emotional wreck about all of this and…

Kellie's rambling was cut off by Jason kissing her.

"What the hell, Jason?" Kellie said, breathless.

Jason kissed her again, "I like it when you ramble."

"That doesn't even make sense," Kellie said, "Especially when I'm rambling because I"m freaking out about having a baby, your baby. That doesn't bother you."

"No," Jason said, "Because you're not really freaking out about having a baby. I know that you're scared because Garrett's still alive even though he's in prison. And you feel vulnerable. You really don't like feeling vulnerable."

"No I don't," Kellie admitted, her hand moving to her belly, "And this makes me feel really vulnerable. What if I can't protect…"

"You will," Jason said, putting his hand on top of Kellie's, "We both will. I'm not giving anyone who might want to hurt you or our child the opportunity to. I'm not leaving you again in the position I left you the night Ryan kidnapped Carly."

"Jason, we both know you can't guarantee any of that," Kellie said, "So please don't promise something like that…"

"You're right there's no guarantees," Jason said, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to do everything, I mean everything to make sure you feel safe."

"I want to believe that," Kellie said, "To trust that."

"Let me help you," Jason said.

"I want to," Kellie said, "But I don't know how. It's like you said, I've always shouldered a lot of this stuff. Not that Uncle Lo didn't help when I was pregnant before and Tyler didn't do what he could."

"It's different circumstances," Jason said, "and like everything else that's happened, you need time to figure that out and to stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You have time to wrap your head around whatever you need to and still get ready for the baby to be born."

"Even if we're putting the nursery together in the last month," Kellie replied.

"We have plenty of people to help with that," Jason said, "Although Carly and Olivia probably wouldn't let you get away with that."

Kellie thought about that for a moment, "That might now be a bad idea. I could just let them…"

"Is that what you really want?" Jason asked, "To have Carly and Olivia take complete charge of the nursery."

"No," Kellie said softly.

"Just worry about whatever it is you need to next," Jason said, "the rest will work itself out."

Jason kissed her. Kellie let herself get lost in the kiss. Before things could go any further, Kellie and Jason heard the kids making noise.

"And the next thing would be making sure the kids get to school," Kellie said, kissing Jason again, "I'll make this up to you later."

"Are you forgetting something?" Jason asked.

Kellie looked at Jason puzzled.

"Your pants," Jason said.

Kellie looked at the hair tie she was still holding and thought for a moment, "I give up."

Kellie went to the closet, found the bag of clothes Sam had brought her, and the first item she pulled out was a fabric band with the tags still on it.

"Thank you, Sam," Kellie said.

"What is that?" Jason asked as Kellie stepped into it and pulled it up her body to the top of her jeans.

"Something that still lets me regular jeans," Kellie said, smoothing her shirt over the top of the band, covering it.

Jason just shook his head as Kellie left the room.

Kellie got the kids off to school and then grabbed her coat to leave.

"Any chance I can convince you to make things up to me now?" Jason asked.

"Rain check," Kellie said, "I have to go to the Foundation offices and track down the rescue coordinator."

"He still hasn't returned your calls?" Jason asked.

"Time to go camp out in his office," Kellie said.

"Is Charles going with you?" Jason said.

"i hadn't planned on it," Kellie asked.

"It's just this guy's been dodging you," Jason said, "Why would anyone dodge the founder of the place you work for regarding a case they should be working? Especially given that the case directly involves you. What about the new executive director? Did you call him?"

"Out of town this week," Kellie said, "At least that's what I've been told. Any more phone calls I put my other contacts in an awkward position."

"I don't like it," Jason said, "I'd feel better knowing you have some one with you that will have your back."

"And right now I can't be sure who at the foundation would back me," Kellie said, "It's kind of a mixed bag since we got married. With Uncle Lo out of commission, it's anyone's guess."

"I'd offer to go with you," Jason said, "But I doubt that will help things."

"Unfortunately no," Kellie said, "I'll call Charles. He might have a better idea of what's going on anyway."

**Crossing Into Dawn Offices**

Charles met Kellie outside the office where she explained the situation more in depth than she had over the phone.

"I spoke with the Executive Director's assistant earlier this week," Charles said, "He was definitely not on vacation. In fact I have a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow."

"I don't like the sound of this," Kellie said, "That's two foundation staff avoiding me."

Kellie went to use her badge to enter the building. It didn't work.

"That's weird," Kellie said.

"They might have revoked yours when you were kidnapped," Charles said, "I'll try mine."

Charles's badge didn't work either.

Kellie called the front desk and the receptionist came to let them in.

"Do you have any idea why my badge and Charle's badge aren't working?" Kellie asked.

"Let me get a hold of the executive director," the receptionist said.

"Is the rescue coordinator in?" Kellie asked, "That's why I'm here today."

"If you wait for the Executive Director," the receptionist said, typing on the computer, "I'm sure he can answer all your questions. If you'll follow me to the visitor's conference room…"

"Visitor's conference room?" Kellie asked, "Hold on a minute. My personal guard will be coming with us instead of waiting here."

"But that's not the protocol that's been established," the receptionist said.

"Our badges not working and being shown to a visitor's conference room," Kellie said, "Isn't protocol. Someone changed the rules with out so much as a peep to me or Charles. I don't think anyone would blame me at this point for feeling uneasy."

"I'll take it from here, Vanessa," the executive director said, followed by two security guards, "I'm sorry about the unexpected change in protocol. We were working on communicating that to you, unfortunately you showed up before we could reach out to you."

"I guess I could see how difficult it could be to reach out to me when you were supposed to be on vacation," Kellie said, "Although I have been trying to reach the rescue coordinator for several day now and he refuses to return my calls. So Calvin, what exactly is going on?"

"There's no easy way to tell you and Charles this," the executive director said, "But given recent events and your connections to organized crime, some staff and board members have concerns about the effect on the foundation's image and public perception."

"Kellie's marriage to Jason Morgan was discussed at length with the board," Charles said, "And Kellie resigned from the executive director position to make sure the foundation was protected."

"Yes, the board was willing to make certain allowances," Calvin said, "As it was understood the marriage was in name only and certain rumors about your relationship could be overlooked. However, as the latest gossips includes you carrying Jason Morgan's child, those rumors can't be overlooked. Not to mention our rescue coordinator claims you threatened him. The board has decided the foundation cannot continue to employ you in any capacity. The same goes for Charles since his father, Raphael Giambetti, is a well known racketeer. You've both been terminated from employment with Crossing Into Dawn effective immediately."

"Is this a joke?" Charles asked.

"It's not a joke, Mr. Scott," Calvin said, "I'll need you both to turn in your badges and keys."

"I'd like to know how the Rescue Coordinator is claiming I threatened him," Kellie said, "He hasn't returned my calls regarding the Esoterra case."

"According to his assistant you threatened to hunt him down if he didn't return your call," Calvin said.

"What I said was he had 24 hours to return my call or I'd camp out in his office," Kellie said, "I don't think you can call that a threat."

"Mrs. Corinthos-Morgan," Calvin said, "The decision's been made. Now please turn in your badges and leave before I have security escort you out."

"I'd still like to speak to the rescue coordinator," Kellie said, handing over her badge "I have questions about the Esoterra case."

"That case is closed as you well know," Calvin said.

"There are people we need to look at, including David Henry Archer," Kellie said, "Or Shiloh as he now calls himself."

"We will not be launching any additional investigations from this case," Calvin said, "A representative from NCIS has already made it quite clear we have no cause to investigate this Shiloh."

"Since when does any law enforcement agency dictate who our rescue teams investigate?" Kellie said.

"Our business is done here," Calvin said, nodding to the security guards, "Unless you need assistance leaving the premises I suggest you leave."

"I don't know who the hell you think you," Kellie said, "But our business here is far from done."

She turned and left. Charles went with her.

Back in his office, Calvin pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

"I hope you call bearing good news," Shiloh answered.

"Kellie Corinthos-Morgan officially no longer works for or has access to anything at Crossing Into Dawn," Calvin said, "As a result, there will be no further investigations into Garrett Esoterra's activities or suspected associates."

"That is wonderful news, my brother," Shiloh said.


	39. Chapter 39

"You may want to be careful about throwing terms like brother around," Calvin said, "While we do go back to being college roommates, we wouldn't want anyone to get the idea we know each other."

"You worry too much," Shiloh said.

"Someone has to," Calvin said, "With Garrett's supply no longer a viable option, we need to be meticulous in ensuring our donors are happy."

"With you in charge of the Crossing Into Dawn foundation," Shiloh said, "No one will have cause to look our direction. I do have several promising initiates in the meantime that will work for our largest donors."

"Have they been initiated into the trust yet?" Calvin asked.

"Patience, Calvin," Shiloh said, "All in good time." Shiloh hung up.

"Easy for you to say when you're not the one with the donors breathing down your back," Calvin muttered.

Outside the Crossing Into Dawn office's, Kellie kicked the tires on her car.

"What the hell just happened in there, Charles?" Kellie asked.

"A corporate takeover," Charles said, looking at his cell phone, "My meeting with the executive director for tomorrow been canceled."

"I should have never let the board tell me I couldn't be involved with hiring an executive director or that Uncle Lo couldn't be involved in the the background checks," Kellie said, "Every thing about this is wrong."

"Unfortunately, the board and executive director have the authority to do this," Charles said.

"Believe me I know," Kellie said, "I have to make some calls first. But can we meet in an hour at your home office?"

"Is there anything I should start researching in the meantime," Charles asked.

"Setting up a grant administration program," Kellie said, "My casino is the largest donor to the foundation. Straight donations are out of the question under these circumstances."

"I'm on it," Charles said, "Anything else?"

"If you have a copy of the lease that Michael set up with $0 rent paid to the foundation for the office building," Kellie said, "Look through that. If you don't have it, let me know and I'll have Michael get a copy."

"Done," Charles said, opening the door to Kellie's car as Johnny started the vehicle, "I'll see you in bit."

Once Kellie was in the car, Johnny asked where she wanted to go.

"It doesn't make sense to go home right now," Kellie said, "I have calls I need to make. We can't stay here with the car."

"I know where you could go," Johnny said, "But you might not like it."

Kellie waited for Johnny to continue.

"Sonny's restaurant," Johnny said, "We're not that far. I'm sure he'd let you use the back office."

"You're right," Kellie said, "I don't like it but I'm not about to let being at odds with my father keep from doing what I need to do for the foundation."

Kellie texted Sonny asked if she could borrow his office for a bit. Sonny texted his agreement and said he'd let the staff know to let her in. Then she texted Michael and asked him to meet her at Charle's home office to discuss a situation with the Foundation and the lease. She called and left Jason a quick message.

Then she started making calls, starting with Zach Slater, who manages her casino.

"Zach, I need you to put a stop on the monthly donations to the Foundation until further notice," Kellie said.

"Run that by me again," Zach said, "Did you say what I think you said? To stop the donations to the foundation."

"You heard right," Kellie said, "The Executive Director and Rescue Coordinator have been avoiding my calls and when I showed up at the offices this morning, the director let me and Charles know our services were longer needed.

"Ouch," Zach said.

"Without access to the financial information, I'm not comfortable just forking over the donations," Kellie said.

"That will definitely cause some penny pinching," Zach said.

"They should be fine until Charles and I can set up a new arrangement for making the donations," Kellie said.

"And what about public relations," Zach asked.

"We can weather it," Kellie said, "I don't think the foundation will risk a smear campaign, because that's what it would turn into if they go public with firing me. I will tell my side of the story if they force my hand."

"You made sure that everything was transparent and above board," Zach said.

"I had to," Kellie said.

"I'll stop the payments," Zach said, "Let me know what the new arrangement will be. Do you want to inform the foundation yourself?"

"We'll have the appropriate staff at the casino notify them closer to when the next payment is supposed to go through," Kellie said, "Go through the normal channels."

Once in Sonny's office, Kellie's next call was to Larisa, one of the board members.

"I had a feeling I'd be hearing from you," Larisa said, "I take it that you…."

"Were completely kicked out of the foundation I started," Kellie said, "And I'm not entirely sure why. What happened?"

"I don't like how this was railroaded through," Larissa said, "I think that we should have given you an opportunity to explain yourself."

"Explain myself about what?" Kellie asked.

"The Rescue Coordinator claims you threatened him," Larisa said.

"I have spent most of the last week trying to call or get an appointment with the Rescue Coordinator," Kellie said, "To discuss the Esoterra case and investigating a potential associate that is residing here in Port Charles. He never returned my calls and I couldn't get an appointment for more than a month, Larisa. I did tell his receptionist the last time I called that if he didn't returned my call in 24 hours, I would wait at office however long it took to meet with him."

"He made it seem more extreme," Larisa said.

"Have I ever once threatened anyone at the foundation?" Kellie asked.

"No," Larisa said, "As I said, I thought we should have spoken to you about the situation. Given the situation you'd just been through, I could understand why you'd be impatient to talk to the coordinator."

"Then why exactly did the board vote this through with out talking to me," Kellie asked.

"Your situation with your father and husband is becoming problematic," Larisa said.

"You and the rest of the board have always known who my father is," Kellie said, "That's never been an issue. You and board were certainly willing to overlook my marriage to Jason especially with the concessions I made stepping away from being the executive director."

"We've heard that you're pregnant," Larisa said, "Is that true?"

"Yes," Kellie said.

"And the child is Jason Morgan's?" Larisa asked.

"Yes," Kellie said.

Larisa let out a deep sigh.

"There have been a lot of rumors about your marriage to Morgan," Larisa said, "But you turning up pregnant with his child gives credence to the fact that you are more deeply involved in criminal activities even if it's not actually the case. If the marriage to Morgan became unnecessary for your safety, you don't have the ability to walk away as easily with a child now involved. There's too much risk of bad press. That I can't over look."

"How many of the board members voted against me?" Kellie asked.

"Five of us did," Larisa said, "Two abstained."

"Thank you, Larisa," Kellie said, "The only I'm going to tell you is I'd watch my back if I were you. I don't believe you were directly involved in this. But this took planning regardless of how railroaded this seems. I just hope that whoever planned this doesn't put the foundation at risk with whatever their agenda is. I hope you and the other board members step back and ask yourselves why someone wanted me out."

Kellie hung up and made her next call.

"Director Vance," Kellie said, "Do you know anything about one of your people instructing the foundation not to investigate Garrett or Shiloh any further?"

"No," Leon said, "We don't tell your people what investigations they can or can't pursue unless we have an active investigation ourselves. Since our investigation is not active, we wouldn't be telling you not do your own investigating. Who told you NCIS was instructing you not to look further into this?"

"The executive director," Kellie said, "After letting me know the board had fired me and my father-in-law."

"The board did what?" Leon asked. Kellie explained the events that had happened.

"That's a shame for you and the foundation," Leon said, "And I was really hoping you would be able to put to rest my misgivings about Garrett's connection to Shiloh."

"Who says I won't?" Kellie asked. "Obviously I know you can't provide me much information and support given the directives you've been given. Could you tell me who has been telling you Shiloh can't be investigated?"

"It's a directive from someone above me that works for several people it could have come from," Leon said, "Unfortunately, I can't make more direct inquiries. However, I wouldn't rule out that whoever it is may have something to do with stopping that investigation on your end."

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Kellie said, "Anyway, I have more calls to make."

"I imagine so," Leon said, "Look if you run across anything actionable, let me know."

"Of course," Kellie said.

Kellie's next call was to Gibbs.

"What now?" Gibbs asked, "Please don't tell me you or one of your kids has been kidnapped again."

"I just got fired by my own foundation," Kellie said, "Who also kiboshed investigating Esoterra's associates further without ever talking to me."

"Who'd you piss off?" Gibbs asked, "Enought to oust you from your own foundation."

"Or they want me out of the foundation to keep me from investigating Shiloh," Kellie said.

"Then you have your work cut out for you," Gibbs said, "I'm not sure how much I can help you."

"Before you yell at me or someone tells you not to talk to me," Kellie said, "I have a question about the Esoterra case."

"I'll see what I can do," Gibbs said, "I'm not sure I can be much help."

"I have one question," Kellie asked, "About the navy petty officers Garrett used to transport people. Did you or anyone from NCIS question them about Garrett's connection to Shiloh or did anything ever come up there?"

"We were never able to question them," Gibbs said, "All the known petty officers involved are dead. Garrett killed every single one of them. Once they completed the transport they turned up dead."

"Damn." Kellie said, grabbed a glass sitting on the desk and throwing it at the wall. She just missed hitting Sonny as he entered the office, startling. him.

"You alright, Corinthos," Gibbs asked.

"I just knocked a glass over," Kellie said.

"Over or across the room," Gibbs replied.

"If you or your team think of anything useful that can help me," Kellie said, "Pass it along."

"Just keep your hitman husband with you for any escapades you might get yourself into," Gibbs said, before hanging up, "If something catches my attention, I'll let you know Corinthos."

"I knew you were mad at me," Sonny said, "But throwing glassware."

"That wasn't meant to hit anyone," Kellie said, "What I really need right now is a punching bag. I have too much damage control to do right now."

"What's going on?" Sonny asked, "I'm wondering why you would ask to use my offices?"

Before Kellie could answer Jason entered the office and noticed the shattered glass on the floor.

"I got your message," Jason said, "What do you mean you and Charles were fired from the foundation?"

"The Foundation what?" Sonny said, "They can't do that."

"Actually they can," Kellie said.

"What reason did they give?" Jason asked.

"For Charles, because his biological father is Raphael Giambetti," Kellie said, "The Rescue Coordinator claims I threatened him."

"So they fired you with out talking to you," Jason said, "That doesn't even make sense."

"You'd have a case for wrongful termination," Sonny said, "Is Charles working on that?"

"It's more than that," Kellie said, "The entire board either voted against me or abstained."

"What else prompted the board to cut you out of your own foundation?" Jason asked.

"It's not important," Kellie said.

"If they used Charles's father as cause for him," Jason said, "Then it's not a stretch to assume that board was no longer comfortable with your connections to Sonny and I."

"Yeah," Kellie said, "They could no longer ignore the rumors about the seriousness of our relationship and what that might mean about my involvement in your activities."

"The board had no concerns with all of this when you moved back to Port Charles and married Jason?" Sonny asked, "Now all of a sudden they've changed their minds without a reason."

"They think they have a reason," Kellie said.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"It doesn't matter," Kellie said, "They probably would have eventually found some other reason. I'm supposed to meet Charles and Michael shortly to discuss ELQ's lease and the donations from the Casino, so I should get going."

"Let's go," Sonny said, "I'm coming with you and we can work on getting the Board to see reason."

"You can't fix this," Kellie said, "You getting involved won't help anything."

"I can at least ask Charles why the board has issues with you being my daughter and Jason's wife when they didn't before," Sonny said, "I'm assuming he was with you when this happened."

"Just leave it alone," Kellie said, "Besides, this kind of takeover takes planning. The one board member I talked to indicated this was railroaded through. Someone was waiting for whatever excuse they could twist to their advantage to push this through. With Lorenzo and Charles and I all otherwise occupied the last couple weeks, they had the perfect opportunity to force me out."

"Alcazar was fired too?" Sonny asked.

"Not yet," Kellie said, "But after an appropriate amount of time, I'm sure the foundation will fill his position. Uncle Lo's out indefinitely with rehab. Before I forget, Jason, could you talk to Spinelli and have him see what he can find on the executive director Calvin Harris and the rescue coordinator, Jeremy Owens. And have him dig into the backgrounds of all the board members. See if there's any connections to Garrett or Shiloh."

"I'll have him get right on it," Jason said, "Is there anything NCIS can pass along to you that might help us. I know they're not investigating the case, but…."

"They don't, I was just on the phone with Vance and Gibbs," Kellie said.

"They're the reason you were throwing bar ware," Sonny said.

"The kicker to all this is the executive director claims someone from NCIS told him there was no reason to investigate Shiloh," Kellie said, "Director Vance says that's not the case."

"Any chance its whichever of Director Vance's superiors that closed NCIS's investigation?" Jason asked.

"I'd say the odds are high," Kellie said.

"You know Shiloh contracted with the Navy. Couldn't some of the Navy Petty Officer who helped Garrett possibly know Shiloh and indicate if he was involved?" Jason asked.

"Garrett didn't leave any witnesses behind," Kellie said, "According to NCIS, every single one of them are dead."

"He killed all of them," Jason said, "So as not to have witnesses, but didn't cover his tracks and the cops know he did it."

"Apparently he's not a very good hitman," Kellie said, "That's beside the point, the other thing I want to do is meet with Sam and Drew to discuss the situation with Shiloh in light of all this new information."

"I want in on that discussion," Sonny said, "With him in your and Kristina's orbit."

"Fine," Kellie said, "See if you can arrange something for later tonight. And I'm going to be late if don't leave now."

"Were you still planning on picking the kids up from school today?" Jason said, "if not, I'll let the guards know not to expect you."

"Shoot," Kellie said, "I have no idea how long things are going to take."

"You know what," Sonny said, "I'm sure Avery would love it if Alyssa and boys came over after school. The kids will be occupied while you're doing what you need to do. By the time you're ready to meet with Drew and Sam, Carly and Joss will be around too."

"Okay, fine," Kellie said, heading out the door, "Thank you."

Sonny touched Kellie's shoulder, stopping her, "You need to breath. You've got this. You're going to figure it out.

"Dad, I don't have time," Kellie said.

"And if I know my daughter," Sonny continued, "you'll make the people that did this wish they'd never heard of you. I know you're upset and frustrated that you had everything you worked so hard to build's been ripped out from under you completely. But you can't let it stress you out so much. It's not good…"

"Don't you dare say what I think," Kellie said.

"for you or the baby," Sonny finished.

Kellie groaned, "I'm definitely leaving now."


	40. Chapter 40

Jason got in the car with Kellie.

"Why don't you let Charles know that you'll be little late?" Jason said, "And we'll pick up something to eat before you head over."

"Michael already offered to grab food from Kelly's and bring it over," Kellie said, "And I have a protein bar and a few other snacks if I need it."

"Then let's talk about why the board is using your connections to Sonny and I to fire you," Jason said, "Nothing about our relationship has changed since we got married."

"They simply realized our relationship is serious," Kellie said, "and found they have a problem with it."

"But our relationship was serious even before we got married," Jason said.

"But the board wasn't thinking that was the case," Kellie said, "Now that they realize we're more involved than just a marriage of convenience, they feel it implies I have more do the with business than I actually do."

"What happened that would make the board think that?" Jason asked, "The only thing that's changed is you're pregnant."

Kellie buried her face in her hands. Jason slowly moved her hands away from her face and tilted Kellie's head up.

"Out of everything the board could possibly have an issue with," Jason said, "They're taking issue with you having a baby. That's ridiculous."

"Jason, their issue isn't with me having a baby," Kellie replied, softly, "Their issue is with me having a baby with you. In the minds of the board members, that confirms not only rumors that we have a serious relationship, but gives more weight to rumors I'm involved in your allegedly illegal activities."

"They're idiots," Jason said, "To fire you and Charles based on…"

They were interrupted by Jason's phone ringing.

"It's Spinelli," Jason said before answering, "Spinelli…Kellie and I need to see what you can find on the executive director, the rescue coordinator, and the board members of Crossing Into Dawn, including any connections they have may have to Shiloh or Garrett."

"I will do my utmost to work on that, Stonecold" Spinelli said, "What prey tell occurred to solicit such scrutiny of Wonder Woman's staff?"

"Long story short, they fired her and Charles," Jason said.

"That is a travesty of the utmost….," Spinelli said and began rambling.

"Spinelli," Jason said, trying to get his attention, "Spinelli….SPINELLI, Kellie and I are headed to meet with Charles. Unless there is anything else you need…"

"Yes, there is... so I was actually calling about…" Spinelli replied, "Is Wonder Woman with you? If so, perhaps you could put me on speaker."

Jason put Spinelli on the speaker phone.

"The reason I was calling is to tell you what I found out regarding the doctor who was supposed to have prevented Kellie from having any more children," Spinelli said, "I traced payments from one of Helena Cassadine's accounts that were wired to the doctor's accounts."

"It was as we suspected then," Kellie said, "You wouldn't happen to have tracked down the doctor have you. Monica had said the medical board was trying to locate her, but hadn't had any luck yet."

"I was able to determine the doctor changed her name and her last known residence was in Chicago in early 2015," Spinelli said, "The trail runs cold again after that."

"We will do what can with that," Kellie said, "Thanks, Spinelli."

**Charles's Apartment**

Charles was filling Michael in on the days events when Kellie and Jason arrived.

"It sounds like you both have grounds for wrongful termination," Michael said, "None of their reasons had to do with your performance, especially for being pregnant. As for the rescue coordinator claiming you threatened him, the foundation would have to investigate the claim, allow you an opportunity to respond."

"Which will all become a huge he said, she said mess in court," Kellie said, "and result in additional bad press. How does one prove or disprove the rumors out there about me don't give the foundation a shady image? Not to mention if I'm focusing all my energies on a court battle, I'm not looking deeper who's behind this and why."

"You're saying that someone wanted you out of your own foundation," Michael replied, "But why?"

"We think someone is trying to limit the foundation's ability to do their own investigations," Jason said, "Specifically ones looking into Shiloh's activities."

"The foundation is investigating Shiloh?" Michael asked.

"Well not yet," Kellie said.

"But they should be," Charles said.

"We found pictures showing Shiloh and Garrett knew each other in the middle east," Kellie said, "NCIS's investigation had been stopped and the foundation refused to even talk to me about Garrett and Shiloh since I got back. I'll be looking further into that. Right now my immediate concern is the foundation and its financing."

"What can I do to help?" Michael asked.

"I asked Charles to look through the lease you set up," Kellie said.

"I can save you some time," Michael said, "I did have a clause put into the lease in the event Kellie no longer worked for the company. It gives ELQ the option of charging the foundation for the lease. I didn't actually expect to use it. But as there was never any guarantee Kellie would always work for the Foundation, I thought it prudent to make sure that the $0 lease wasn't set in stone and ELQ could at least re-evaluate with changes in leadership."

"Did ELQ have concerns when Kellie stepped down as executive director?" Jason asked.

"We did discuss it at the time, but since Kellie was still working for the foundation," Michael said, "And the move was to offset any backlash from your marriage, the board at ELQ was fine with not charging the foundation. I'm going to have to run this by the ELQ Board. I don't know they'll be comfortable leaving the lease as is. Not only is Kellie gone, but so is Charles and Lorenzo. That's a major shake up at the foundation."

"That's fine," Kellie said, "That's what I needed to know."

"Do you have a preference as to what the board should do?" Michael said.

"The board has to do what it needs to do," Kellie said, "But I would understand if the board has concerns about leasing a building for free."

"Noted," Michael said, "Is there anything else?"

"ELQ runs grant programs don't they?" Kellie asked, "Given recent events, I need to change how donations from the casino go to the foundation."

"ELQ does a have foundation that gives out grants," Michael said.

"I'm going to have Charles set up a grant program for the casino," Kellie said, "We'll donate the funds that way."

"You weren't doing that before?" Michael asked.

"Never needed to," Kellie said, "I made a decision to donate a certain amount from the casino profits monthly to cover basic expenses and any special projects as needed. I've always had access to financial records to review. But now that I don't work there I don't have access. I'm pretty sure I can require the foundation to submit financial records to me as part of the grant agreement and have regular audits."

"That is true," Charles said, "I briefly had a time to look at some grant agreements. That seems to be a standard clause But, Michael, if you could tell me more about how ELQ's program works that would be helpful."

"Anything you need," Michael said, "I'm curious how much of impact would losing the casino funding have on the foundation?"

"Within a couple of months, it would start to hurt," Kellie said, "The donations were meant to allow us to do more than the basics. There are some other donors, but some people are gun shy about supporting a foundation run by Sonny Corinthos's daughter. Unless they have other funding sources I don't know about, they can't afford to decline the new arrangement."

"I'm starting to understand how you earned your Mafia Queen reputation," Michael said, "It sounds like you have bad press either way. Why not sue the Foundation for wrongful termination and get access to the records that way rather than risk backlash from changing how the foundation gets funding?"

"That's what they expect me to do if they expect me to do anything at all," Kellie said, "I'm not about to risk the foundation over a he said, she said lawsuit and the picture that would paint. I'm only letting them think they've won. It still might be ugly, but there won't be any confusion over what's going on by the time I'm done. If we're right about someone working to protect Shiloh, then they're not playing by the rules. Sometimes you can't fight someone like that with the rules. "

"You're banking on them underestimating your willingness to to get your hands dirty and skirt the rules," Charles said, "It's funny how often people forget that about you."

"Nevermind that I'm the daughter of Sonny Corinthos and niece of Lorenzo Alcazar," Kellie said, "But I'll use it to my advantage every time."

"Aside from the lease and funding," Michael said, "What else do you have in mind? I assume Spinelli's looking into things."

"He is," Kellie said, "I plan to retain another P.I. to look around as well. Preferably one not known to work for Dad and Jason."

"Giving you more credibility when you do come forward with whatever it is you find," Michael said.

"It's a good plan," Jason said as Kellie checked her phone.

"Dad arranged the meeting I requested," Kellie said, "They can meet at our place in a couple of hours."

"You're meeting with Dad's associates?" Michael asked, skeptically, "At your house?"

Kellie shook her head, "Another party that's been investigating Shiloh's activities from a different angle. We just need to see how pull resources together and coordinate our efforts."

"So this is the point where you tell me the less I know the better," Michael said.

"And to focus on the business end of mess," Kellie said.

**Kellie & Jason's House**

Once Kellie and Jason were back at the house, Kellie called Curtis.

"It's not everyday I get a call from Kellie Corinthos or is it Morgan?" Curtis said.

"Some days, I'm not even sure, legally it's Corinthos-

Morgan," Kellie said, "But Corinthos is what seems to stick."

"What I help you with?" Curtis asked, "I assume this isn't a social call."

"That would be correct," Kellie said, "I need to you look into the backgrounds of the entire foundation board, the executive director, and the rescue coordinator as well as David Henry Archer and Garrett Esoterra."

Curtis let out a whistle, "Damn that is quite the mix of people. You think someone at your foundation is double-crossing you."

"I'm sure of it," Kellie said, "I just have to prove it. In the fairness of full disclosure, the foundation decided they no longer believe I should have any part of working there along with my father in law."

"They're crazy," Curtis said, "My wife's had nothing but admirable things to say about you, your father-in-law, and your work even when you turn her station upside down."

"I do my best," Kellie said.

"So what makes you think there are connections between the foundation, Shiloh, and Garrett?" Curtis asked.

"We found photo evidence that suggests they knew each other back in Afghanistan," Kellie said, "Evidence that Drew may have gathered actually. I haven't talked to Drew about that yet, so until I talk to him later tonight."

"I won't say a word," Curtis said, "But why isn't law enforcement or your foundation looking into this?"

"Someone or several someones are putting a stop to the investigation," Kellie said, "It's not even being followed up on."

"You have your work cut out for you then," Curtis said, "I can definitely take the case, but I'm surprised you wouldn't have your husband's computer geek handle this."

"I have him looking too," Kellie said, "You did great work on the last case you worked for me. I want to make sure all my bases are covered. I'll be honest if the police commissioner's husband is the private investigator bringing forward information ensuring law enforcement reopens that case…"

"It takes away any doubts about the evidence," Curtis said, "I'm in. Drew isn't Shiloh's biggest fan and I want him and Sam to focus on their family instead of this sleaze ball shiloh. It's damn shame the two of them being separated. Frankly, it doesn't make sense."

"Hopefully, we can make it easier for them to do that then," Kellie said.

"Do you have time tomorrow to talk more about the case in person," Curtis asked.

"I can do that," Kellie said.

"I look forward to doing business with you then," Curtis said, "For the record, I just want to say I hope never to be on your bad side. I almost feel sorry for whoever we're looking for after seeing how Nelle's crimes came to light on that last case."

"Then you remember that we're dealing with human traffickers," Kellie said.

"On second thought," Curtis said, "I don't feel sorry for them at all."

**The Quartermaine Mansion**

"How was it?" Danny asked, "Living on your own?"

"It was hard," Oscar said, "I didn't want to do it. But Shiloh and his group were really nice. Julian too. It made it a lot easier. But still I'm glad we worked things out. Why are you asking?"

"Just curious," Danny said, "It just seemed really cool."

"It's not as glamorous as it sounds," Oscar said, yawning.

"I'll let you get some rest," Danny said.

Danny left the room and went to his room. He grabbed a duffle bag. Then he snuck out the back entrance, avoiding staff.

**Greystone**

Kristina stopped by Sonny and Carly's.

"Auntie Kristina," Alyssa yelled, launching herself at Kristina for a hug.

"I missed you too," Kristina said, catching her.

"Where have you been?" Alyssa asked.

"I've been really busy, helping people," Kristina said.

Sonny entered the room, "This is a good surprise."

"I thought I should come over and say hello," Kristina said, "I realized I hadn't really seen anybody in awhile."

"You shouldn't disappear like that," Alyssa said, "We're family right."

"Did you miss your aunt?" Sonny asked.

Alyssa nodded.

"Then I think I need to make that up to you," Kristina said, "Is Kellie around?"

"She's taking care of some foundation business," Sonny said, "I offered to grab the kids from school and bring them here until she and Jason could get home."

"How does ice cream sound?" Kristina asked.

"With chocolate and sprinkles?" Alyssa asked, "And a cookie."

"Of course," Kristina said, "Could I take her to out for ice cream?"

"Just let me tell Jackson and he can go with you," Sonny said.

"Is that necessary?" Kristina asked, "She'll be with me."

"Alyssa, why don't you go get your coat and shoes?" Sonny said.

Alyssa happily skipped off, leaving Sonny and Kristina alone.

"Your sister would kill me if I let Alyssa or the boys leave without guards," Sonny said, "I've already screwed things up with the guards and Kellie's barely speaking to me right now. The guard is going with you. That's not negotiable."

Kristina reluctantly agreed as Alyssa came running in, wearing her coat and one shoe. She held the other shoe in her hand.

Kristina helped Alyssa get her shoe on while Sonny informed Jackson of the assignment.

"Ready to go," Sonny said, having grabbed his jacket.

"You're coming with us?" Kristina asked.

"I have a meeting to get to," Sonny said, I'll walk out with you. Jackson is getting the car."

"And the boys don't want to come with us?" Kristina asked.

"They happily engrossed in a video game," Sonny said, "Max is teaching them tricks for beating the current level."

"Alright then," Kristina said, taking Alyssa's hand, "Let's go get some ice cream."


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's Note: So after posting the last chapter, I realized Francis can't be the guard going with Alyssa and Kristina. I spaced on the fact, he got shot earlier in the story and definitely wouldn't be recovered enough to work at this point. I updated the last chapter with a different guard. **

Sam and Drew arrived to find Jason trying to convince Kellie to relax. Johnny had let them in and their presence went unnoticed at first.

"Is anything else you can actually do until Sam and Drew show up?" Jason asked Kellie as she was pacing.

"No," Kellie said.

"Then since you've done everything you can for now," Jason said, "Why don't you try to relax a bit?"

"Don't tell me you could relax if you and Dad were ousted by your own people," Kellie replied.

"Alright, point taken," Jason said, standing in front of Kellie, "But I just don't want you to over do it."

Kellie tried to move around Jason to continue her pacing. Jason gently put this hands at her waist, stopping her.

"Hey," Drew said, getting their attention.

"Sam and Drew are here," Kellie said.

"And what's this about ousting people?" Sam asked.

"How much did Sonny tell you?" Kellie asked.

"He just mentioned you had new information about Shiloh," Sam said, "And that you wanted to talk to us.

"Is this information in addition to the connection you found between Garrett and Shiloh?" Drew asked.

"Do we need to wait for Sonny?" Sam asked, "He mentioned he would be here."

"No we can get started," Jason said, then looked at Drew, "Do you want a beer?"

"If you're offering," Drew said as Kellie caught the looks exchanged between Jason and Drew.

"Wait a sec," Kellie said.

"We can continue this in the kitchen," Jason said.

The next thing Kellie knew they had all moved to the kitchen. Drew had pulled out chairs at the breakfast table for her and Sam while Jason grabbed the beers.

"Did Jason and Drew just do some sort of twin mind reading to…?" Kellie started to ask Sam.

"To get you to sit down. Definitely," Sam said.

"Sam, do you want a beer or anything else to drink?" Jason asked.

"I'll take a beer," Sam said as Jason reached for milk in the fridge.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kellie said.

Drew stopped Jason from grabbing the milk.

"Kellie is about ready to kill you, maybe both of us, " Drew said, so only Jason could hear and then louder, "What do you want to drink, Kellie?"

"Water is fine," Kellie said as Jason glared at Drew, "Since beer isn't an option."

"Did I miss anything?" Sonny asked coming into the kitchen.

"Nothing important," Kellie said, "How are Alyssa and boys doing?"

"Max was showing the boys new video game tricks," Sonny said, "Kristina came over and took Alyssa out for ice cream. Jackson is with them"

"Kristina actually came over," Sam said.

"I'm glad she did," Sonny said, "She seemed to want to visit because she hadn't been around. Alyssa was thrilled."

"Maybe she's coming around," Drew said.

"I hope so," Sam said, glancing at Drew.

"So back to the beginning," Kellie said, "I'll let Jason start with the connection between Shiloh and Garrett."

"Sam mentioned NCIS found some kind of connection," Drew said, "So why isn't NCIS investigating Shiloh?"

"Shiloh has someone in Washington D.C. above the director saying they don't have enough to continue the investigation." Jason said.

"No one can get their hands on Shiloh's file," Kellie said, "Not even now. I'd been trying before of all of this."

"So how did you pick on the connection between the two?" Drew asked.

"It was in your file," Jason said, "Since you said you and Shiloh had a connection, we thought it was worth a shot to check. We found surveillance photos of Garrett & Shiloh together, along with Ilya Petrov, a former associate of Karpovs. You had some kind of appointment scheduled to discuss unnamed concerns. But then you went missing."

"And all they had were photos that I'm guessing didn't show anything other than Garrett and Shiloh were in the same place," Drew said.

"The agents at NCIS are not happy the investigation has been stopped," Kellie said, "Garrett using Navy Petty to transport girls while Shiloh was a Navy Contractor seems a little too coincidental. Especially with both of them ending up in Port Charles."

"Any chance the navy petty officers can tie Garrett to Shiloh?" Sam asked.

"They're all dead," Kellie said, "Garrett made sure of it. The FBI is interested in Shiloh's finances but there's nothing there at the moment."

"What about the foundation?" Sam asked, "Couldn't they run their own investigation?"

"They could," Kellie said, "But they won't. And speaking of ousting people from our discussion earlier, Charles and I were fired today."

Sam and Drew were both stunned.

"Do you think Shiloh has someone inside your foundation then?" Drew finally asked.

"I do, maybe even on the board," Kellie said, "I'd been trying to contact the Rescue Coordinator since I got back to discuss investigating Shiloh. He wouldn't return my calls and the receptionist refused to schedule me an appointment for over a month. The executive director was supposedly on vacation. When I showed up this morning to find the rescue coordinator, the executive director let Charles and I know we'd been let go."

"On what grounds?" Sam asked.

"The appearance of involvement in organized crime," Kellie said, "The perception that the foundation is front for illegal activities."

"But they've known you're Sonny's daughter for years," Sam said, "Even when you married Jason, they seemed willing to accept that."

"As long she wasn't running things," Sonny said, "I know you resigned, but they would have made that a condition of the accepting the marriage if you didn't."

"Apparently they chalked off the seriousness of our relationship as rumors," Jason said, "Until they found out Kellie was pregnant."

"They moved awfully fast to terminate you," Drew said, "You just found out this week."

"I'm sure this gave them whatever they thought they needed to move forward," Kellie said.

"They were planning to nudge you out?" Drew asked.

"I think so," Kellie replied.

"When did you tell the foundation you were pregnant?" Jason asked.

"I didn't," Kellie said, "and come to think of it. The only two people that would have said anything were Charles and Uncle Lo. Neither one would have told them for me."

"How did they already know that you're expecting?" Sam asked.

"Garrett knew too before I did," Kellie said, "And all the reasons why I thought I couldn't have a child. He told Obrecht who told me."

"That information has definitely not been out in the media," Drew said, "What are the odds that the same person who told Garrett also told the foundation?"

"It's possible it's two different people," Sonny said, "But I don't like this."

"We can't rule out the possibility it's connected," Jason said, "The foundation and Garrett knowing about the baby."

"I wish I could help," Drew said, "That I could remember or that have the procedure to restore my old memories wasn't so risky or wipe out my memories of the kids and Sam, of Monica."

"You're too important to lose," Sam said, rubbing Drew's back.

"Besides if Shiloh is as lethal as Garrett," Sonny said, "It might be better if you don't remember."

"Besides, if there is one thing I'm definitely good at," Kellie said, "It's digging up dirt on people they really don't want found and try to hide. Besides, Oscar needs you the most right now."

"So tell me more about this Petrov," Drew said, "Sam mentioned there's a theory that Shiloh's running a sex cult."

"Petrov ran something like the one they just busted out of New York City," Jason said, "We think Shiloh and Garrett may been using Petrov's model as inspiration. Petrov's group did community outreach. The Dawn of Day folk already pay tons of money for classes and Shiloh seems to be their leader in addition to the outreach. Petrov had an inner circle and was blackmailing members for sex."

"I can't speak to blackmailing women for sex," Sam said, "But I think I Shiloh has an inner circle. I've heard reference to something called the trust. But I don't know much about it yet."

"When Daisy confessed to going after Sam," Drew said, "It didn't feel right."

"It didn't seem like the type of thing that Daisy would do," Sam said, "Unless someone made her."

"Cult leaders can manipulate people into doing their dirty work," Jason said.

"So what comes next?" Drew asked, "If law enforcement can't do anything and the foundation's been compromised, how we prove any of this?"

"Spinelli is already looking into Shiloh and Garrett's backgrounds as well as staff and board members at the foundation," Kellie said, "I've also retained Curtis Ashford to investigate as well."

"I'll keep investigating and getting close to Shiloh," Sam said, "See if I can confirm something that indicates he's running a sex cult or something else. Preferably before Kristina gets in any deeper."

"Are you serious?" Drew asked, "Not only did the man take you to Canada to do God knows what if I hadn't shown up, but now he has ties to a known human trafficker and this Petrov. He's more dangerous than we thought."

"That's exactly why we have to keep doing this," Sam said, "Kristina has no idea what she's getting into."

"I'm with Drew on this one," Kellie said, "Let me see what I can dig up through the back channels before we put any more people in Shiloh's crosshairs. As long as Shiloh thinks she's a devoted follower, she should be okay."

"What if she's not okay?" Sam asked, "Because Shiloh blackmails or forces her to something she doesn't want."

"So if you try to get deeper into this and it is a sex cult," Jason said, "What's Shiloh going to ask of you, Sam? You've already separated your family to con Shiloh. How much are you going to risk?"

"Jason and I could just take care of it, problem solved," Sonny said.

"We've already discussed why that's not a valid option," Sam said.

"We're not solving it…." Kellie said, hesitating, "That way."

"And right now Kristina is hardly speaking to any of us," Sam said, "I'm sure if I went all anti-Shiloh, she'd cut me out too and we'd know nothing."

"Look, Sam, I'm saying completely do a 180," Kellie said, "But don't get any deeper, see what you hear just from being involved at the community outreach level. And quit this fake separation from Drew."

"What if Kristina gets hurt in the meantime," Sam said.

"Last time I checked Kristina's an adult," Kristina said, "We can't protect her from everything. If recall when I want to scope out an abandoned night club for Lila Rae last year because the cops were arguing about how to get warrant to search it, you pointed out that going off by myself and putting myself in a situation where I could end up hurt as well wasn't going to solve anything. Pot, Kettle, Black."

"The cops were investigating and working on finding Lila Rae," Sam said, "Law enforcement isn't even looking at Shiloh for anything wrong."

"Sam, let me start pulling at some threads," Kellie said, "It's cleaner and none of us get caught in the crossfire or the backlash if it goes wrong."

"Sam," Drew said, "I want our family back together. I want the sneaking around to see each other to end. I want you running to Shiloh at the drop of a hat to end."

**Kelly's Diner**

Alyssa and Kristina were finishing their ice cream sundaes. Alyssa had gotten ice cream and syrup on her hands.

"Let's take you to the ladies room to clean up," Kristina said, looking at Jackson to make sure he had heard. He nodded indicating he had heard. Kristina left money for the ice cream. Jackson followed them and stood outside the door.

"How would you like to go on an adventure?" Kristina asked once Alyssa had washed her hands.

"What kind of adventure?" Alyssa asked.

"It's a surprise," Kristina said, pointing to a window, "But we have to start our adventure by crawling out that window."

"What about Jackson?" Alyssa asked.

"He knows all about the adventures and will be following from a discreet distance," Kristina said.

"What's discreet?" Alyssa asked.

"It means he'll be with us, but we won't see him," Kristina said.

"Then let's go," Alyssa said as Kristina opened the window.

Outside the ladies room, Jackson knocked on the door when they didn't come out. No answer. The door was locked. Jackson picked the lock and found the room empty and the window open. He tried calling Kristina's cell phone, but heard it ringing in the bathroom. After checking outside, he pulled out his phone and called Kellie.

**Kellie and Jason's House**

Kellie, Jason, Drew, Sam, and Sonny's conversation was interrupted by Kellie's phone ringing.

Seeing it was Jackson, Kellie picked up.

"Kristina and Alyssa disappeared," Jackson said, "They were in the ladies room at Kelly's. I had to pick the lock when they took too long and didn't answer."

"I'll try calling Kristina," Kellie said.

"I already did, her phone was left in the bathroom," Jackson said.

"I'll call the cops," Kellie said, "You keep canvassing the area."

"What's going on?" Sonny asked when Kellie hung up.

Kellie ignored the question and called the police, "Hello, I'd like to report a missing child."

Kellie gave them the information they needed.

"We'll send an officer to Kellie's to talk your guard," the dispatcher said, "We'd recommend you stay home in case she tries call you or just show up there."

"Thank you," Kellie said.

"Kristina and Alyssa are missing?" Sonny asked.

"They are," Kellie said, "Kristina's cellphone was left behind. They're sending an officer to Kelly's. They want me to stay home in case she shows up here."

"I'll go down to Kelly's and help Jackson and the cops," Jason said.

"I'll go with you," Drew said.

"I'm going to go check on the boys," Sonny said, "Sam, can you stay here with Kellie?"

"No problem," Sam said.

Jason's phone rang. He answered, "Monica."

"Jason, Danny ran away," Monica said, "He didn't come down for dinner. I went to check his room. He took his overnight bag. We've searched the grounds and can't find him. I've already called the cops."

"I'll be right there," Jason said, hung up and then realized he couldn't be in two places at once.

"Danny's missing too," Jason said, "Monica thinks he ran away. She's already called the cops."

"I'll go to Kelly's," Kellie said, "And you go to Monica's."

"But the cops want you to stay here," Sonny said, "Look I'll go to Kelly's and Jason can go to Monica."

"I'll call Carly to check on the boys," Kellie said.

"I'm going to Monica's," Sam said, "I know I said I'd stay."

"Someone might want to check the penthouse," Kellie said, "In case that's where Danny went."

"I'll go to the penthouse," Drew said, "If you want to go to Monica's Sam or vice versa."

"I'll go to Monica's," Sam said.

**The Dawn of Day House**

Kristina and Alyssa approached the Dawn of Day house.

"What kind of surprise is this?" Alyssa asked.

"I have this friend that likes to help people," Kristina said, "He's helped me a lot. I know you've been having some nightmares after you were kidnapped. I think he could help make that go away and make things not seem so scary."

Alyssa thought about it for a minute.

"Have I ever steered you wrong?" Kristina asked.

Alyssa shook her head.

"Then what do you say?" Kristina asked when the front door to the house opened.


	42. Chapter 42

"Is everything alright out here?" Shiloh asked, "I noticed you were lingering outside."

"I was just telling my niece you might be able to help her with some bad dreams," Kristina said.

"Your aunt's right, Alyssa isn't it?" Shiloh said, kneeling down next to Alyssa, "I've been able to help a lot of people put bad things behind them, be happier, including your aunt."

"That's right," Kristina said.

Alyssa looked unconvinced.

"You're skeptical," Shiloh said, "That's okay. Why don't we go inside and just talk?"

"No," Alyssa said.

"Shiloh's right, you don't have to decide today," Kristina said, "We can just talk about how he might help you."

"Aunt Krissy, I want to go home now," Alyssa said.

Kristina knelt down, "Remember we're on an adventure."

"Jackson," Alyssa yelled. Jackson didn't show up.

"Where's Jackson?" Alyssa said, "You said he was coming with us, just invisible."

"Being discreet like I said," Kristina said.

"He would have come when I yelled," Alyssa yelled, "You lied to me"

Alyssa slapped Kristina across the face. She kicked Shiloh and ran away.

Danny was approaching the Dawn of Day house when Alyssa barreled into him.

"Where's the fire?" Danny asked, looking for Kellie, Jason, or a guard, "Are you out here by yourself?"

"Kristina said Jackson was with us," Alyssa said, "But he didn't come when I called."

Kristina and Shiloh approached and Alyssa scrambled to hide behind Danny.

"Alyssa's with you?" Danny asked Kristina, "Where's her guard?"

"I just needed a head start," Kristina said, "It's to help Alyssa."

"It was nice knowing you," Danny said to Kristina.

Danny looked around trying to figure out what to do.

"You kids shouldn't be out here by yourselves," Shiloh said, "Let's go back to the house."

"And Mommy said not to be near you," Alyssa yelled at Shiloh, then buried her face back into Danny.

"She's coming with me," Danny said.

He grabbed Alyssa's hand and whispered "run" in her ear. They took off down the street.

**The Quartermaine Mansion**

Sam and Jason arrived at The Quartermaine Mansion to find Monica talking to Valerie.

"Danny must have turned his phone off or ditched it," Jason said, "Spinelli can't pick up a signal."

"We'll want the video footage from the security cameras outside," Valerie said, "See if we can't figure out where Danny may have gone. What about friends or his brother's?"

"I'll work on getting the video footage," Ned offered.

"Drew is headed to check the Penthouse to see if Danny went there," Sam said.

"I called Elizabeth and Franco," Monica said, "They said they or Jake haven't seen or heard from them."

"He and Oscar are close," Sam said, "Maybe Oscar might know something."

"We should see if Cameron, Josslyn, or Trina have heard from him," Jason said, "He did tag along on the Niagara Falls adventure."

"I'm going to check in with the station," Valerie said, "Make sure that we coordinate efforts with all the search teams since we have three missing persons. I'll be right back. "

"Three missing persons?" Monica asked.

"Kristina and Alyssa are missing too," Jason said, "They went to use the restroom at Kelly's and when they didn't come out, Alyssa's guard, went in and found Kristina's cell phone. There was a window someone could have taken them out of."

"Kellie must be beside herself right now," Monica said.

"The cops wanted Kellie to wait at home in case Alyssa shows up there," Sam said, "And Sonny is talking to the cops."

Kim came downstairs.

"So Oscar woke up," Kim said, "When I asked him if Danny had mentioned going anywhere, Oscar said Danny had been asking him a lot of questions about when he lived on his own."

"So Danny's thinking he's going to live on his own," Monica said. Kim quietly went back upstairs.

"Jason, what are we going to do about Danny?" Sam asked, "This is getting out of control. First Niagara Falls and now this."

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?" Jason asked.

"I don't see you trying any harder to make an effort with him," Sam said.

"I'm not going to force Danny to see me if he doesn't want to," Jason said, "He won't come to the house. I've offered to do stuff with just him before and after school, on weekends and he refuses."

Monica attempted to bite her tongue and then lit into both Jason and Sam.

"I've really tried to hold my peace about this," Monica said, "But you know what I just can't anymore. First off, Jason, I get that you're trying to respect Danny's choice not to see you. But that is the last thing he needs. He needs to know that you're going to fight for him and make him a priority. He's testing you. So what if he bails or cancels on your times with him. It's not like you couldn't just show up here when he's here or show up at one of his baseball games or school events. Even if he doesn't talk to you, just show up. As for you, Sam, I have no idea what case could be so important that you would let it separate you from Drew and the kids like this. I love having Danny and Scout here, but they spend more time here than they do with either of their parents, Danny in particular."

"Monica, solving this case will help a lot of people," Sam said.

"Then let someone else do it," Monica said, "And focus on putting your family back together. They need you. You've been the only constant in Danny's life until you took this case. Having his mom suddenly be unavailable isn't helping matters."

"I appreciate the advice, Monica," Sam said, "But there's more at stake than I can let on here. I will take what you said under advisement."

"How can this case possibly have more at stake than your son's well-being?" Monica replied.

"Sam, you have other options," Jason said, quietly, "To still work on this case and not have to leave Danny and Scout all the time."

"Let's just focus on finding Danny," Sam said, "And deal with everything else later. I'm going to go check with Danny's friends to see if they heard anything."

**Kellie and Jason's House**

Kellie had called Carly and talked to the boys. She let Charles know what had happened and he was headed to the police station. Now she was pacing waiting to hear something. She saw the text that Drew checked the Penthouse and Danny wasn't there.

Kellie heard the door open and Jamie and Jared coming running into hug Kellie. Carly followed behind them.

"They wanted to come home and wait with you for Alyssa," Carly said, "They didn't want to you to be alone."

"Did Alyssa runaway again?" Jared asked.

"I don't know yet," Kellie said, "But your Aunt Kristina's missing too. She didn't take her phone with her so. Grandpa Sonny and Jackson are working the police to figure out what happened."

"We're going to check the house and the backyard," Jamie said, "Maybe she snuck in."

"You do that," Kellie said, "That would be really helpful."

The boys took off to search the house.

"Have you heard anything about Alyssa or Danny?" Carly asked.

"Just that Drew checked the penthouse and didn't find Danny there," Kellie said

"What do you think happened to Kristina and Alyssa?" Carly asked.

"Honestly, I don't know what to think," Kellie said, "If Alyssa ran away, Kristina would have called. But the fact that Kristina was missing and didn't take her cell phone. Not to mention, Jackson didn't hear anything like a struggle to indicate they were in trouble."

Carly looked a little nervous and like she was contemplating whether to say what she wanted to say.

"Carly, what aren't you telling me?" Kellie asked.

"Look when Kristina stopped I overheard her ask Sonny if it was necessary to take Jackson with them," Carly said, "I don't want to think this. But I'm wondering if Kristina ditched the guard and took Avery with her. I can't think of a single reason why she would do that?"

"Oh hell no," Kellie said. Before Carly could reply, Kellie was on the phone with Sonny.

"Is someone checking the Dawn of Day House?" Kellie asked.

"Not yet," Sonny said, "Since Kristina is living there, they want to check on that. Is there a reason you think they might be there?"

"Carly mentioned something about Kristina inquiring if the guards were necessary," Kellie said, "The last time I talked to Kristina, we were fighting about Shiloh pushing me to let him treat Alyssa instead of her child therapist."

"That's crazy," Sonny said, as Carly's jaw dropped, "There's no way you'd let some nobody just treat Alyssa. Kristina should know that. But I can't imagine she'd just take Alyssa without your consent."

"I don't want to believe it either," Kellie said, "But Kristina's so sideways in these days."

"We'll find her," Sonny said, "Whatever it is. Did you talk to Carly and check on Jamie and Jared?"

"Yeah, I did," Kellie replied, "The boys decided I shouldn't be here alone and Carly brought them home. They're searching the house for Alyssa in case she snuck in."

"They're good boys looking out for their mom," Sonny said, "I'm going to see if there's anything new and I'll let you know when I find out something."

"You don't really think Kristina would have taken Alyssa to Shiloh when you told her not to" Carly asked when Kellie got off the phone.

"I would hope not," Kellie said, "But that means the alternative is worse, that someone took them.…damn I hate this. I should be out searching for my daughter. Not standing here waiting for the phone to ring."

"Hey, I know it's tough," Carly said, "But you're doing the right thing here, waiting for her to come home. We still know don't why she and Kristina are missing. God forbid you go out there searching for her and end up putting you and the baby at risk."

"I know that, Carly," Kellie said, sitting down on the couch, "That's what makes this so hard. I feel like I'm choosing between one kid or the other. Not to mention now Danny's taken off too."

"They're going to find them, both of them," Carly said, sitting on the couch with Kellie, "Sonny's out there along with the guard. I bet Charles is too. Jason, Sam, and Drew are looking for Danny. It'll be fine because I said so."

**The Quartermaine Mansion**

Before Jason or Monica could speak, Olivia called Jason.

"Ned just filled me on Kristina and Alyssa and Danny," Olivia, said, "Is Kellie by herself at the house waiting? I can arrange for someone to cover for me at the MetroCourt."

"Carly texted earlier that she was headed over there with the boys," Jason said, "But thanks for checking."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do," Olivia said.

"I'm sorry if you feel like what I said was out of line," Monica said after Jason hung up

"You weren't," Jason said, "I'd be more than happy for Danny to come stay with me. But it would mean separating him from Scout. He doesn't want to be around Kellie or her kids. I don't know what to do for him or how to reach him. It just seems to be getting worse."

"I know that Danny hasn't made it easy at all for you," Monica said, "Even before you left to go figure yourself out and spent a few months on the island. But he's counting on you on you to figure out it. You're going to have to be creative with him. I don't know what case Sam is working on but if she continues the way she has, it's going to make it that much harder for you. I hope you can convince her to use these other options for everyone's sake."

**Between Kelly's and The Dawn of Day House**

"Lose them, Danny, lose them," Alyssa yelled. Evenutally, she started to lag behind Danny, "Slow down, I can't keep up."

"Sorry, I thought you wanted out of there," Danny said, ducking down an alley. He listened and looked for Kristina or Shiloh.

"Can you call my mom?" Alyssa asked.

"I don't think I have her number," Danny said.

"What about your dad?" Alyssa asked.

Danny sighed and searched his bag. He turned on his phone and called Jason.

"Danny, where are you?" Jason answered.

"With Alyssa," Danny said, "I found her at the Dawn of Day house."

"You and Alyssa were at the Dawn of Day house," Jason replied.

"I was in the neighborhood and Alyssa barreled into me," Danny said, "She was running from Kristina and Shiloh. I'm not sure what was going on other than Kristina all but admitted she ditched her guard and Alyssa wanted nothing to do with either of them. She even said Kellie had told her not to go near Shiloh. I just took Alyssa and ran."

"You did the right thing," Jason said, "Where are you at now?"

"On our way back to Kelly's," Danny said, "Alyssa needed me to slow down. She wanted me to call her mom. I don't have Kellie's number."

"I want to talk to Uncle Jason," Alyssa said, tugging at Danny's jacket…. "Please."

Danny handed Alyssa the phone.

"Danny rescued me," Alyssa said.

"Yes, he did," Jason said.

"Are you going come get us?" Alyssa asked.

"I or your Grandpa or the police will come get you," Jason said, "I need you to give the phone back to Danny."

Alyssa handed Danny the phone, "Your dad wants to talk to you."

"Danny, I'm going to have you stay right where you're at," Jason said, "Someone will come and get you. I want you to stay on the phone with me until Sonny and Alyssa's guard get there or the police. They're the closest to you at the moment."

Within a couple of minutes, Sonny and Jackson showed up, along with Detective Chase.

"Grandpa Sonny," Alyssa said, running to him, "I want to go home."

"That's exactly where we're going to take you," Sonny said.

"I just need to ask these two a couple of questions," Chase said, "Before I can let you take them home to their parents."

As Chase finished talking to them, Kristina ran up to the group.

"Alyssa, I'm so glad I finally found you," Kristina said, "Why did you run off like that?"

Alyssa hid behind Danny again.

"That wasn't an adventure," Alyssa said, "Why did you take me to see a man mommy told me to stay away from?"

"Alyssa, you don't understand," Kristina said.

"Jackson, get the kids in the car," Sonny said. He turned his full attention to Kristina.

"Please tell that you didn't take Alyssa to Shiloh after Kellie told you not to," Sonny said, "And that you didn't intentionally ditch her guard to do it."

"If Kellie was't so closed minded, she'd see I was doing her and Alyssa a favor," Kristina said.

"You terrified Alyssa, your niece," Sonny said, "What were you thinking?"

"Grandpa Sonny," Alyssa yelled for the car.

"This conversation isn't over," Sonny said, "The only reason I'm not dragging you back to your sister's with me is because Alyssa can't even be in the same room with you right now."

"And it would be considered kidnapping to take Kristina against her will," Chase said, "Right, Mr. Corinthos."

Sonny didn't answer and got in the car with Alyssa and Danny.


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's Note: Just a few items for those that were wondering, yes, the whole Danny rescuing Alyssa is the start of improving the relationship between him and Jason. Still probably going to take some time, but it will get better. Yes, Kellie will definitely be ripping Kristina a new one sometime in the next couple of chapters. Thank you for reading! Happy Thanksgiving!**

Alyssa burst through the front when they got home.

"Mommy," she yelled running for Kellie on the couch. She curled up against Kellie.

Kellie kissed her forehead and just held her.

"Aunt Krissy lied to me, Mommy," Alyssa said, "She to took me to see someone you said to stay away from. I ran away. After I slapped Aunt Krissy and kicked her Shiloh freak friend"

"I don't see why you couldn't just drop me off at the Penthouse or Grandma Monica's," Danny grumbled as Sonny made sure he came in the house.

"Your mom, dad, and Drew are coming here to get you," Sonny said, "When you pull stunts like sneaking out, there's consequences. This is one of them."

"Danny's my hero," Alyssa said.

"I bet he is," Carly said.

"I heard," Kellie said, "Why don't we go in the kitchen and I'll heat up some soup for you and make you grilled cheese sandwich? Does that sound good?"

Alyssa nodded.

"Danny, do you want anything?" Kellie asked.

"To leave," Danny said.

"If you change your mind…," Kellie said, "And Danny, Thank you."

Danny shrugged. Kellie and Alyssa walked off to the Kitchen.

In the kitchen, Alyssa asked, "What's Danny's problem? Why doesn't he visit his dad here? Jake visits here and he's not even our cousin like Danny is."

"It's complicated," Kellie said, "But Danny's just having a hard time with a lot of things."

"Like what?" Alyssa asked.

"His dad was missing and everyone thought he was dead for a really long time," Kellie said, "When Uncle Jason came back, it wasn't like he thought it would be. Danny just needs to be mad about it for awhile."

"He's been mad about it for a really long time," Alyssa said, "Does he even know where his room is here?"

"I'm not sure," Kellie said.

"I'm going to go show Danny where his room is," Alyssa said.

"Nope, not right now," Kellie said.

"Why not?" Alyssa said, "Maybe if he knows where his room is he'll come visit."

"Danny needs to stay downstairs until his parents get here," Kellie said, "He can go upstairs only if he wants to go upstairs."

"Oh," Alyssa said, "Is Danny in trouble?"

"A little bit," Kellie said, "He wasn't supposed to be wandering around by himself."

"So he snuck off," Alyssa replied.

Kellie nodded.

"But he rescued me," Alyssa said, "So shouldn't he get a free pass."

"No, it doesn't work that way," Kellie said.

"Oh," Alyssa said and then went silent.

"Do I have to see Aunt Krissy again?" Alyssa asked.

"Only if you want to," Kellie replied.

"Does that make me a bad person?" Alyssa asked.

"Nope," Kellie said, "Aunt Krissy made a mistake and she scared you. One that makes it hard for you to trust her. Sometimes you need time before seeing someone that's hurt you even if they didn't mean to."

"How come she made a mistake and took me to see that bad man?" Alyssa asked.

"She honestly thought she was helping you," Kellie said, "But she went about it in the wrong way. She's just really confused right now."

"How do we get her unconfused?" Alyssa asked.

"Uncle Jason and I working on that with Aunt Sam and Uncle Drew," Kellie said, "You don't have to worry about it."

"Okay, I'm sure you'll sort it out," Alyssa said as Jamie and Jared ran into the kitchen and engulfed Alyssa in a flurry of hugs.

As Kellie finished getting Alyssa's dinner set out for her, she caught Alyssa whispering to Jamie and Jared. Then Jamie and Jared bolted out of the kitchen.

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Jason and Sam had arrived.

"Danny, what were you thinking?" Sam asked.

"Oscar lived on his own," Danny said, "Why can't I live on my own?"

"Oscar's situation was something completely different," Jason said, "You can keep running off. It's not safe."

"Like you even care," Danny said as Drew entered the room. Sonny quietly nudged Carly out of the house to leave them to talk.

"Danny, you know that's not true," Sam said.

"Come on, Mom," Danny said, "Dad's family is here. Last I checked I don't live here. And it doesn't even feel like I live with you lately either. Drew's practically living at the mansion with Oscar. I see him more than I do you. I might as well be on my own as it is.

"And where exactly did you plan on living?" Drew asked, "Last I checked you didn't have a job or money to pay rent."

"The Dawn of Day house," Danny said, "Oscar made it sound like it was a good place."

"No," Sam, Jason, and Drew said simultaneously.

"Whoa," Danny said, "Mom, I thought you liked the guy. You've been taking his classes with Aunt Kristina. Although after finding Alyssa there with Kristina, I'm starting to wonder what the hell is wrong with both of you. That Shiloh's creepy. No wonder Alyssa was using me as human shield."

Before anyone could respond, Jamie and Jared ran into the room.

"Can we show Danny his room here?" Jamie asked.

"I think I'm going home like now," Danny said, shaking his head.

"That's not happening quite yet," Drew said.

"We have a lot to talk about," Sam said, "You, me, your Dad, Drew, and Kellie."

"I'll pass," Danny said, getting up from the couch, "Since I have a room, I'd rather be there if I have to be here."

"Come on," Jamie said, "It's upstairs."

"Hold on a minute," Sam said as Danny let Jamie and Jared lead him upstairs.

"Let him go," Jason said.

"The discussion all four of us of us need to have doesn't necessarily need to involve Danny," Drew said, "At least not now."

Upstairs, Jamie and Jared showed Danny the room that had been set up for him.

"Thanks," Danny said, shutting Jamie and Jared out of the room.

Kellie heard the door slam from the kitchen and looked at Alyssa.

"I didn't do anything," Alyssa announced.

Kellie looked at her skeptically.

"But Jamie and Jared might have shown Danny his room," Alyssa said, "You didn't say they couldn't show him his room."

"Alyssa, you know better," Kellie said, "I also said, Danny needed to stay downstairs for now."

Kellie left Alyssa to finish her dinner and went upstairs to find Jamie and Jared standing outside Danny's room.

"What do we do about Danny?" Jamie asked.

"Leave him alone," Kellie said.

"Oh," Jared said, "Alyssa thought he might want to know where his room was. She thought it would make him happier about being here."

"The next time Alyssa suggests you do something, you might want to check and make sure she wasn't told not to do that," Kellie said, "For future reference. As for Danny, just let him be. I want you to get ready for bed. It's a reading night."

"But we have guests." Jared said.

"It would be rude to…" Jamie said.

"I have adult guests," Kellie said, "We need to talk about Danny and figure out how to help him be happier. That's a very grown-up conversation."

"But we're grown-up," Jamie said.

"Technically we're not eighteen yet," Jared said, unhappily.

"So," Jamie said.

"If we think of something you could do to help Danny," Kellie said, "I'll let you know. Now go brush your teeth and put your pajamas on. You do have school tomorrow."

"You mean we still have to go tomorrow?" Jamie said.

"Yep," Kellie said, "There's no reason for you to miss school tomorrow."

"Not even because Alyssa was missing again?" Jamie asked.

"Well technically, she was with Aunt Kristina," Jared said, "So…"

Kellie went back downstairs, got Alyssa, took her upstairs, and made sure the kids were all settled before going downstairs.

"So what did I miss?" Kellie asked.

"Danny thought he'd live with Shiloh and Dawn of Day like Oscar did," Jason replied.

"Thankfully, he decided Shiloh was a creep when he found Alyssa," Sam said.

"Did he say why he wants to be on his own?" Kellie asked.

"A lot of things. He figures he might as well be his own," Jason said, "Our relationship still isn't great, all the changes in the last couple years."

"And now he feels like he hardly ever sees me," Sam said.

"He is at the Quartermaines all the time," Drew said, "Since you had to promise Shiloh you'd come whenever he called."

"That's ridiculous," Kellie said, "Look Sam, I know you don't want to hear this, but this situation tonight with Danny, his reasons for running away, are another good reason to back off the angle you're taking with Shiloh."

"Danny's given you an easy out," Drew said, "That you've decided you want to spend more time with him and Scout if Shiloh asks."

"Shiloh probably won't believe that," Sam said, "Or he'll say something about how that shows how my priorities and path to inner peace are screwed up."

"Who cares what Shiloh thinks?" Kellie replied, "The important thing right now is Danny. Kristina and Shiloh come second to that. I hate to say this, but if we can't figure this out so that Danny feels like he's cared about and he belongs to our crazy extended family, he'll try to run away again. Maybe not to Dawn of Day, but somewhere."

"And who knows what other trouble he could get into," Jason said, "As much as I know this won't make Danny happy, the guards need to be closer. Not at a distance the way Lorenzo set them up."

"That is completely unnecessary," Sam said.

"Jason has a point," Drew said, "Especially if Danny does try to run away again. Maybe they can stop him."

"I'll be honest I don't think it's if he'll run away again, it's when," Kellie said.

Jason, Sam, and Drew looked at Kellie confused.

"Do you have any idea how many fosters home I ran away from by the time I was Danny's age?" Kellie said, "If they sent me back to one I'd just run away again until they tried another one. If he wants to run away as bad as I did, he'll try it again."

No one spoke and just let that sink in.

"Can one of you let me know what Danny's schedule is?" Jason asked Sam and Drew, "Not only for the guards because that's not negotiable at this point, but also so I can try to figure out something different for spending time with Danny."

"I'll make sure you know what's going on and where he's at," Sam said, "I'll agree to the guards being closer until we can be sure Danny won't run away again."

"And what about Shiloh?" Kellie asked.

"I can out con him," Sam said.

"He's not your typical con, Sam," Kellie said, "This guy has people in high places covering for him, stopping investigations, and he's getting people to interfere with things somehow like at the foundation. I don't think it's the same as you're thinking."

"Let Kellie do her thing," Drew said.

"She's tried before and nothing come if it," Sam said, "And with law enforcement and the foundation letting this go, I don't think you're going to find anything or it will take too long."

"Maybe I can't get Shiloh's file," Kellie said, "But I what I do have that I didn't before is other connections to look into. The foundation board, the executive director, and the rescue coordinator, other staff. I have a direction other than a shot in the dark."

"Sam, come on," Jason said, "We all have to give something if we're going to reach Danny."

"Alright," Sam said, "I will back off of Shiloh. But if you don't find anything, Kellie, we'll need to revisit this."

"There's too many people involved now, Sam" Kellie said, "We just have to pull the right thread and everything will start coming to light. We'll find something. "

"We'll see," Sam said, "Unfortunately Shiloh seems to be one step ahead. I'm going to go let Danny know we're leaving."

Sam headed upstairs and found Danny had fallen asleep. She went to wake him.

"Let him sleep," Jason whispered from the door.

"I don't know, Jason," Sam replied.

"Maybe it'll help making coming here easier eventually," Jason said.

Sam looked at Danny and back at Jason.

"Alright, but if he's mad about being left here," Sam said.

"I'll deal with it," Jason said, "It's just for tonight unless for some reason he decides he wants to spend the weekend."

"Okay, if he needs to come home," Sam said, "Call me."

Sam headed downstairs.

Drew and Kellie looked at Sam confused.

"Danny's asleep," she explained, "Jason suggested leaving him here for the night."

"Maybe it will help things between the two of them," Kellie said.

"You're probably right," Sam said, "But I just worry it's too much after everything he's been through. He's got school tomorrow and probably nothing he needs for class."

"Unless he has a test or presentation tomorrow," Drew said, "I would just play it by ear. Give Jason a chance to talk to him."

"He'll be fine," Kellie said, "Will he probably be mad and view leaving him with his dad and the evil stepmom as punishment? Probably. But we can work with that better than his whole refusal to spend time with Jason."

"I'll let the school know he won't be in tomorrow," Sam said, "Arrange to get his assignments."

They discussed a few more logistics.

After Drew and Sam left, Kellie found Jason in their bedroom, looking at a photo he'd taken of Danny sleeping on the bed.

"Hey, you okay?" Kellie asked wrapping her arms around Jason from behind.

"I can't quite believe he's actually spending the night here," Jason said.

"I'm glad Sam agreed to let him stay," Kellie said, "hopefully it will be good for both of you. Though I think it'll still take a while with him."

"I honestly I have no idea how to reach him," Jason said, "Especially when he doesn't seem to want me to reach him."

"He wants you to reach him," Kellie said, "He's just so hurt and so angry about everything that's happened, that he doesn't know how to let you reach him. He'd had both you and Sam together when he was much younger. Your relationship with Sam was all over the place shortly before you were shot on the docks and we all thought you died. Then Drew who we thought was you comes to town and Danny thinks he has both his parents back together. But oops that wasn't really you. But Sam and Drew decided to stay together when it was all said and done. Meanwhile, you leave town to find yourself in the aftermath. While you needed to do that for you, I would guess from Danny's perspective it might have felt like you didn't want much to do with him. To make it worse, you came back from the island and married me. Yeah, it was for business reasons. But still when you consider you married a woman with kids that lives with you now, it probably feels unfair to him. He needs someone to blame, direct his anger at, and we're it. Until he can work through that, we just have to figure out how to be there for him and let him know we're not going anywhere."

"Basically, after all the back and forth between Sam and I and the whole being shot and presumed dead, he needs to feel like he can trust me," Jason said.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "He's got to see that you're serious about making him and Jake a priority. Kind of like I have to see that Dad's serious about keeping the guards."

"How do I do that when he doesn't want to do things when I offer or try to set something up?" Jason asked.

"Who does he remind you of?" Kellie asked.

Jason looked at her confused.

"Danny's me when I first came to Port Charles," Kellie said, "I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Sonny. I didn't even want him to know he was my father then you screwed that up by asking too many questions and running DNA tests when I gave Morgan blood."

"That did work out for you," Jason said, "Sonny at least stopped wanting to run you out of town, we took care of your stalker/rapist which allowed you live life on your own terms and not on the run."

"But I was still angry at Sonny," Kellie said, "It wasn't his fault my mom never told him or me about the other instead of overdosing and leaving me to end up in the foster system. But as a kid, I didn't know any of that. Even when I got that letter she wrote with a note stipulating it could only be given to me as an adult and she named Sonny as my father, I'd been through so much by then, I still blamed him. I blamed him for not rescuing from the system and my mom. I needed my dad and he wasn't there. By the time, Sonny could be there, it felt like too little too late. In addition to the fact that my Dad and I just naturally clash, I was all for pushing him and everyone else away. I think that's where Danny's head is at right now."

"In your case," Jason replied, "That meant letting you leave town until you were ready to come back. Obviously, that's not an option for Danny."

"Yes, I could legally run away," Kellie said, "Although you did track me down.

"We had to make sure you were safe," Jason said.

"Even though I didn't want you to," Kellie said, "You need to start doing that kind of thing with Danny. How many times did I tell you that you didn't have to do things for me and the kids the last few years, but you did them anyway? Do things for Danny when he says he doesn't want you to."

"I want him to feel like he has a choice," Jason said, "When Sam and I discussed his reactions to spending time with me, we thought it was better to not force. There was so much he didn't get a choice about…"

"That's great," Kellie said, starting to drift off to sleep against Jason, "But he's still in middle school and it's not getting better, it's getting worse."

"I now you're probably right," Jason said, "I will guess do like Monica suggest just start showing up at the Quartermaines when I know he's there and get Sam to give me a schedule of his baseball games and anything else he has."

"Good," Kellie said, trying to stay awake, "And don't let anyone talk you out of it. I'm sorry, but with that, I am really exhausted."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Jason said, "You did have a long day between corporate takeovers, launching investigations, Kristina taking Alyssa, and Danny ending up here. all while growing a human being."

"I want to keep helping you sort this out," Kellie said.

"There will be time for that tomorrow," Jason said, "Besides you helped me a lot tonight with what you think's is going on in Danny's head and relating to your own experience."

Kellie shifted uncomfortably.

"Is everything okay?" Jason asked.

"Everything just feels really tight all of a sudden," Kellie said, more than half asleep against Jason, "The baby's probably having a growth spurt."

Jason pulled Kellie closer against him as she fell completely asleep.


	44. Chapter 44

**_The next morning_**

Danny woke up and realized he'd fallen asleep at Jason and Kellie's. He noted the time, got up, grabbed his bag, and cracked open the door.

All was quiet and he didn't see anyone up. He snuck downstairs and made his way to the front door. His hand reached for the door knob.

"I thought you might try something like this," Kellie's voice startled Danny. He froze as the light in the study came on. He looked to find Kellie standing in the doorway.

"I have to get to school," Danny said, unconvincingly.

"I might believe that in another hour," Kellie said, "And by the way, your mom was going to let the school know not to expect you today."

"So what I'm like stuck here," Danny said, "For how long."

"That's between you and your dad," Kellie said.

"Where is he?"Danny asked.

"Upstairs asleep," Kellie said.

"So you what staged an all night stake out to see if I tried to leave?" Danny asked.

"No," Kellie said, "I've only been awake for about a half hour."

"You know I don't have to stay here," Danny said, "I'm just going to walk out the door and."

"And get stopped by the guard," Kellie said, "You can go ahead and try it. It's up to you. Or if you want there'll be breakfast in the kitchen soon."

Kellie left Danny at the door and went to the kitchen. Danny contemplated his options, dropped his bag and followed Kellie to the kitchen.

"How did you know I'd try to sneak out," Danny asked.

"It's what I did" Kellie said, grabbing items out of the fridge to make breakfast, "When I was your age."

"Wait what?" Danny asked, "You ran away from Uncle Sonny's as a kid."

"No, foster homes," Kellie said, "Sonny didn't even know I existed until I was an adult."

"Were you successful?" Danny asked.

"Multiple times," Kellie said, "Until the cops found me and I had to go back or they found me a new home."

"What's your secret?" Danny asked, "How did you get away?"

"I'm definitely not telling you that," Kellie replied, "So why do you want to run away so much?"

Danny didn't answer.

"Because you're pissed off at the world in general," Kellie said, "Nothing is how you think it should be. No one asked your opinion about anything. I can keep going. By the way, running away doesn't make the hurt and the anger go away, you just take it with you."

"You lived in foster homes why would you care if the hurt and anger came with you," Danny asked, shifting uncomfortably as Kellie's words struck a nerve.

"I tried it when I came Port Charles," Kellie said, "I never wanted to come to Port Charles. I never had any intention of telling anyone who I was. But things happened and the truth about Sonny being my dad came out. There was no going back and I had to figure out how to deal with that when it wasn't what I wanted at the time or planned on. I was angry at Sonny, the world, you name it. So I left town. But eventually I came back to deal with all the hurt and anger. Even though I'd so much time pushing my dad and siblings away, they waited me out. So you can push and try to run away all you want, but we can wait you out. Because that's what this family does."

Danny looked unconvinced.

"Do you have any idea how lucky you are?" Kellie said, "I know you're angry at your dad and me and the whole situation feels unfair. But do you have any idea how much I would have loved to be in your position at your age with parents that care about you?"

"Then why did Dad leave town last year if he really cared about me?" Danny blurted out, "I don't understand why he had to help you with security when you'd always taken care of your own."

"I know some people believe that's why your Dad went down to the island," Kellie said, "But that's not why he came to the island. After being held prisoner for five years, he had somethings he needed to figure out and he couldn't do that here."

"Why?" Danny asked.

"That's all I'm going to tell you," Kellie said, "If your Dad wants to discuss that with you that's up to him. But him leaving last year for a months was never intended to be a reflection of how he feels about you or Jake. I'll let you in on a secret, sometimes adults we don't have our shi…stuff together together. We just try the best that we can. Your dad is trying to do better with you. But it's a two way street. The more you push him away the harder you're making it on both of you. Just think about that next time you consider bailing on a visit with him."

Kellie hand Danny a plate with a breakfast sandwich. He eyed it warily.

"I'm not the evil queen from Snow White," Kellie said, "I don't go around poisoning people, Squirt."

"No one's called me that since I was little," Danny said.

"I was the only one that ever called you that," Kellie said

"Well I'm not a squirt," Danny said, cautiously eating his breakfast sandwich.

"That's debatable," Kellie said, standing at the fridge with the door open. She went to grab orange juice and stopped.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked when he noticed Kellie just stood there, holding the door.

"I'm fine," Kellie said. Danny wasn't convinced.

Kellie shut the door to the fridge, slowly turned around, and put both hands on the island counter.

"No you're not. You look really pale," Danny said, "Do you have like morning sickness or something?"

"Yeah," Kellie said.

"But you're like kind of showing," Danny said, "I thought morning sickness went away after the first few months."

"Not for me," Kellie said.

"Maybe you should sit down," Danny said. The next thing Kellie knew Danny was next to her, easing her on the barstool at the island.

"I'm umm…going to get Dad," Danny said. He took off before Kellie could stop him.

"Danny, I just need…" Kellie said before realizing Danny hadn't heard her and was gone.

Upstairs, Danny shook Jason to wake him, "Dad, wake up. I think Kellie's really sick."

It took Jason a moment to focus and realize what Danny was saying.

"Sick how?" Jason asked, moving from the bed.

"The kind of sick Mom was when she was pregnant with Scout, but worse I think," Danny said.

"Where is Kellie now?" Jason asked.

"In the kitchen," Danny said, "I made her sit down and then came to get you."

Jason went in to the bathroom, opened a cabinet and grabbed some medication.

"Is she going to be okay?" Danny asked.

"She will," Jason said as they headed downstairs, "Kellie gets sicker than most pregnant women. She just needs some medication to help her feel better."

"But isn't medication not always good for babies?" Danny asked.

"The doctors made sure to give Kellie medication that was safe for the baby," Jason said as they arrived in the kitchen. Kellie hadn't moved from the barstool.

"Danny, can you get her a glass of water?" Jason said, "The glasses are in the cupboard by the sink."

Danny didn't respond, but went to get a glass of water.

"Danny said you're sick this morning," Jason said, standing next to Kellie, "What's going on?"

"I umm…. I think I forgot to take my medication with everything that went on yesterday," Kellie said as Jason opened the prescription bottle, grabbed a pill, and handed it to Kellie.

Danny handed Jason the glass of water. Jason set the glass down in front of Kellie. Kellie took her medication and drank some water. Danny meanwhile went to work finishing his breakfast.

"What time is it?" Kellie asked, looking at the clock, "I have to get the boys and Alyssa ready for school."

"I'll make sure they're ready," Jason said, "I think should you take it easy today."

"I have things to do today," Kellie said, "I have a meeting with Curtis and I need to talk to Kristina."

"Talk?" Danny muttered, "More like rake her over the coals."

"Have Curtis meet you here," Jason said, "You can deal with Kristina another day."

Kellie didn't reply.

"I know that's the last thing you want to hear right now," Jason said, "But it was only a couple of weeks ago you were in pretty rough shape. Even the thought of seeing you like that scares me. I'd feel better if you'd take it slow, make sure the medication gets working again before you keep doing what you need to do."

"Okay…. I will ask Curtis if he could meet me here," Kellie said, "And do what I can from here today."

Before anymore could be said, Alyssa came running down the stairs, "Danny, you're still here."

She hugged him excitedly. Danny didn't exactly hug her back, but he didn't push her away either.

"Your mom made you breakfast," Danny said, eventually trying to pry Alyssa off him as she chattered at him.

"It's not put together," Alyssa said, seeing the English muffins sitting out and the eggs and bacon on the stove. She grabbed the English muffin, "and It's not warm."

Danny rolled his eyes, but grabbed the English muffin and put it in the toaster.

Jason meanwhile had convinced Kellie to move to couch in the family room.

"Before I forget to ask," Jason said, "What were you doing up so early."

"Not sure," Kellie said, "But then it occurred to me Danny might try to sneak out before everyone else was up."

"Did he?" Jason asked.

"Tried to walk right out the front door," Kellie said.

"The guards would have stopped him," Jason said.

"I know," Kellie said, "But I couldn't sleep as it was. We had a good talk or more like I talked to him. Maybe something got through."

"Anything you care to share?" Jason asked.

"Nope," Kellie said, "Privileged information."

After Jason made sure the boys were up and moving, he noticed Danny had disappeared back to his room.

Once the kids had left for school, Jason looked in on Kellie and saw she'd gone back to sleep on the couch. He turned the tv off, grabbed a blanket, and put it over Kellie.

Then Jason headed upstairs to talk to Danny.


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's Note: I'd hoped to add the showdown with Kristina at the end of this chapter. It's taking me longer to write than planned. It will be in the next chapter. I'm hoping to post that chapter before Christmas. Then the next chapter will be posted after the new year Hope you all have great holiday and new year!**

Jason cracked open the door to Danny's room. Danny was laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Mind if I come in?" Jason asked.

Danny shrugged, "It's your house."

Jason thought about Danny's response and tried to figure out where to start as he entered the room. Jason sat at the end of Danny's bed.

"What you did for Alyssa last night," Jason finally said, "I know you obviously had other plans when you found Alyssa, but um…"

"It's not a big deal," Danny interrupted, "Alyssa needed help. I wasn't going to just leave her there."

"I just wanted to say you did a good thing," Jason said, "last night and this morning. I know it probably wasn't easy for you."

"Well, can you explain to me what Mom's doing hanging around that Shiloh freak?" Danny asked, "I thought she was smarter than to buy into some weirdo's line of crap."

"She is," Jason said, "Look, your mom is worried about Kristina. She's trying to figure out what Shiloh's intentions are. That's why she's been hanging out with him."

"But why would Alyssa say that her mom told her not to be near Shiloh?" Danny asked, "That sounds like something you'd tell her if you were sure he was doing something wrong."

"Look, we know that Shiloh is connected to someone that we know has done some things wrong," Jason said, "We're trying to figure out if Shiloh is involved in those things somehow."

"How bad are these things?" Danny asked.

"Bad," Jason said, "I'm glad that you got both yourself and Alyssa away from that situation last night."

"Oscar made Shiloh sound so nice," Danny said, "I didn't see it. Shiloh says the right things, but it feels all wrong."

"I think that's what Shiloh wants you to think that he's nice," Jason said, "i think he's good at convincing people that he has their best intentions in mind."

"I guess it's a good thing Oscar decided not to stay there," Danny said, "When can I go home or Grandma Monica's if I'm not going to school."

"If you really want to go home or to the Quartermaines," Jason said, "I'll take you. But I was really hoping we could spend some time together."

Danny didn't respond.

"We can go somewhere else if you'd like, the park or the arcade when it's open," Jason said.

"So I don't have to go to school today, but you'll take me to the arcade?" Danny asked, "I thought I was supposed to be in trouble. I assume Mom and Drew leaving me here was supposed to be punishment."

"You fell asleep and we decided not to wake you," Jason said, "I won't force you to be here if you don't want to be here. But I'd like to do something with you."

"I don't know," Danny said, "I mean Kellie seemed pretty sick. Should you be leaving her alone in her condition?"

"Between the medication and the nap she's currently taking," Jason said, "She'll be just fine. Not to mention, there are enough people around to check on her if I'm not here. Besides what happened to the idea that you don't live here, so Kellie being pregnant has nothing to do with you."

"That's sounds really horrible when you say it back to me," Danny said, "Enough though I think the way things went the last few years sucks and I'm mad about it, doesn't mean I'd want anything bad to happen to Kellie or your kid. I guess I'm not used to seeing her not looking like she's got everything handled. I just don't get why you had to go off and move on with out trying with Mom."

"Danny, we've been over this," Jason said, "Both people have to want to try to make it work. When it came down to it, your mom didn't want to go back to what we had. That's not something anyone can force anymore than anyone could force you to want to spend time with me."

"I guess not," Danny said, softly.

"I know I've failed you in a lot of ways," Jason said, "I'm trying to fix that. But I'm at a loss for what to do. I can't try to do better if you're not willing to give me a chance."

"So if Mom had been willing to give chance maybe it would have worked out," Danny said.

"Maybe," Jason said, "There are no guarantees. I don't know how it would have turned out with your Mom. The truth is things weren't great between us before everyone thought I was dead. We both changed. I don't blame her for deciding to stay with Drew. He's treated both her and you really well. I can't ask for more than that."

"Did you actually fall in love with Kellie?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I did," Jason said.

"So the marriage is real then," Danny said.

"It is," Jason said and then waited for Danny to respond.

"So um Alyssa mentioned something about a like a media room here with video games," Danny said, "Could I see it?"

"We can definitely do that," Jason said.

Jason and Danny went to the media room and Danny found a couple of games he wanted to play. That was where Kellie found them when she woke up.

Kellie looked in and attempted to move away quietly without interrupting.

Jason saw Kellie and paused the game.

"Kellie," he said, getting her attention.

"Go back to your game," Kellie said as Jason stood next to her.

"Is everything good? Are you feeling better?" Jason asked.

"I'm good as new," Kellie said, "Now go beat Danny at whatever video game it is you're playing."

"Hey," Danny said, "Judging by the current score, I'm beating Dad by miles and miles."

"Then I guess you have some catching up to do," Kellie said, shoving Jason back towards "Besides Curtis should be here any minute to discuss that case I'm working on."

Jason and Danny continued to play video games while Kellie met with Curtis. Kellie grabbed her jacket as Curtis got ready to leave.

"Whoa, hold up here," Curtis said as Kellie reached for the door, "I came here to meet you because you were too sick to leave. Now you're just going to go…"

"The anti-nausea stuff's working now," Kellie said, "I've got stuff to do."

"What are you trying to pull?" Curtis asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Kellie said, "I just figured I might was well walk out with you."

"Tell that to someone who didn't watch you put Nelle Benson in her place," Curtis said as Kellie opened the door.

"We can discuss it outside if you insist," Kellie said, ushering Curtis out the door.

"Oh I insist," Curtis said, "Don't you want to let Jason know you're leaving?"

"I'll text him," Kellie said, shutting the door quietly.

"Do I even want to know what you're dragging me into," Curtis asked.

"I'm just going to visit Kristina," Kellie said, "Nothing more. And Jason is of the opinion I should stay home all day. But now that I'm feeling better, it's totally unnecessary. But if I go downstairs and interrupt Jason, he'll feel like needs to stop playing video games with Danny."

"It's not like Jason hasn't spent time with Danny before," Curtis said.

"Curtis, Danny didn't take news of our wedding well," Kellie said, "He's been reluctant to warm up to Jason. Danny mostly avoids spending time with Jason. The only reason Danny's here right now is because he fell asleep here after my dad brought him and Alyssa here last night. Somehow, Danny's starting let Jason in just a little. I'm not going to wreck that opportunity for either one of them."

"Alright," Curtis said, "That is admirable. I will assist you in bringing father and son closer together provided you are taking your guard."

"He's waiting for me in the car," Kellie replied.

"Of course, he is," Curtis said, "Is he going to rat you out to Jason?"

"Not when I'm the one paying him," Kellie said, "And I'm not heading into trouble. Besides, I will text Jason that I left."

Danny beat Jason at the video game they were playing. When the sound died down, both Jason and Danny noticed the house was really quiet.

"Wasn't Kellie meeting with Curtis?" Danny asked.

Jason saw his phone had a message, "Feeling better. Going to see Kristina. Have fun with Danny."

Danny read it over his shoulder and laughed.

"This isn't funny," Jason said.

"I totally knew she'd go after Kristina as soon as she could," Danny said.

"How did you know that?" Jason asked, "She was going to stay home and…."

"She never actually said she'd stay home," Danny said, "What she said was…"

"She'd do everything she could from home," Jason said, "Which isn't promising to stay home."

"There's no way Kristina would come here," Danny said, "Come on let's go."

"Go where?" Jason asked.

"Like I'm really going to miss the explosion that's bound to happen when Kellie and Kristina are in the same room," Danny said, running out of the room, "Text her guard and find out where they're going."

**Charlie's **

Kristina was having lunch with Alexis, Sam, and Molly. Kellie arrived in time to hear Molly yell, "Kristina's in a cult!"

Kellie managed to sneak by them unnoticed as they continued to fight. Kellie took a spot at the bar.

Julian realized Kellie was the bar, "Any chance I can ask you to take this somewhere else?"

"No," Kellie said.

"She was just trying to help," Julian said.

"She took my daughter, ditched her guard," Kellie said, "And took her to someone I explicitly told her not to."

"Jesus," Julian said.

"I'd offer to cover any lost business," Kellie said, "But since I haven't done a thing yet and that your customers are already paying their tabs and leaving, I can't in good conscience cover it."

"At this rate maybe I should just close up shop for the day,"Julian said.

"If you can't support me, Molly," Kristina yelled, catching Kellie and Julian's attention, "Maybe I don't need you in my life."

"You sure you want to do this," Julian asked as Kristina then yelled she had to go back to work.

"That isn't changing the outcome of my conversation with Kristina," Kellie said as Molly was yelling at Sam.

Kellie stood up, turned around, and looked directly at Kristina.

"It's time you and I had a little chat," Kellie said.


	46. Chapter 46

**Author's Note: One confrontation with Kristina delivered as an early present! Yay! No more updates until after the New Year. A couple teasers or spoilers in the meantime. Most of my stories are about 60-65 chapters. I try to keep to that. In order to wrap up everything I want to wrap up in this one and do the things I want to do, this one will likely be longer. This includes resolving the Lorenzo/Alexis Romance, some scenes around Oscar's death on the show, Danny coming around more, Kellie coming to terms with having another kid and solving the connections between Shiloh and staff at the foundations, and Shiloh's and Garrett's fates. Not to mention Kellie and Jason have to their baby. :) All things to look forward to in the coming year. Happy New Year & Happy Holidays!**

Jason and Danny arrived at Charlie's and passed Molly as she was storming off, upset that Sam seemed to be being sucked into the cult with Kristina as well.

Sam chased after Molly, "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Molly, just listen to me," Sam said, noticing Danny and Jason were there, "What are you two doing here?"

"Having lunch," Danny said and then quickly went inside before anything more could be said or done.

Sam looked after Molly, leaving, and back towards Charlie's.

"I've got Danny right now," Jason said.

"Why are you two really here?" Sam said, "Kellie's in there and I doubt Danny's inclined to suggest meeting her for lunch. Actually I'm surprised that he seems like he's having fun with you."

"Kellie left for here before she let me know she was leaving," Jason said, "Danny wanted to watch which I know I shouldn't encourage. But Kellie had a rough morning…"

"And you think you need to ride to the rescue if she needs it it," Sam said, "I should take Danny and go home. He doesn't need to see this."

"It's probably too late," Jason said, "And if you go back inside Kristina will expect you to back her up."

"And Kellie has every right to lay into Kristina," Sam said, "Just promise me you'll have my mom bring Danny home if things get out of hand. She's still inside."

"I'll do that," Jason said.

Once inside Jason quietly sat at a table with Danny (who had avoided Alexis). They both watched Kellie and Kristina square off against each other.

"I really don't have time right now," Kristina said.

"You don't have a choice," Kellie said, "We are having this conversation and we are having it right now unless you'd like to have this conversation some place more private."

"I tried to get Alyssa help," Kristina said, "Help that you were denying her."

"No, you put my daughter in danger," Kellie said, "What gives you the right to kidnap my daughter and take her to see someone I already said no to seeing?"

"Shiloh's methods may not be conventional but they do work for people," Kristina said, "You shouldn't be so closed minded. Don't you want to give Alyssa every opportunity to heal?"

"I am with trained psychologists and specialists," Kellie said, "Even if you disagree with that decision, you had no right to take Alyssa to anyone without my consent. It's not your call. What's worse is you lied to her to get her to come with you."

"It was technically an adventure," Kristina said.

"I guess you can tell yourself that if that's what helps you sleep at night," Kellie said, "She certainly didn't see it that way when she wanted to leave and you tried to convince her not too. Even more so when she realized her guard was no where around. Thank god, Danny showed up when he did. Seriously, Kristina, how could you put any child in position where they might be scared? Especially after what Alyssa's been through already."

"If you would just give Shiloh a chance," Kristina said, "You'll see that…"

"Tell me how exactly Shiloh would be able to help my daughter," Kellie said, "As far I can tell none of his little self-help classes even come to close to Alyssa's situation."

"He has a different way of seeing things, a way of getting people to really get to the root of what's holding them back from true healing," Kristina said.

"So far this sounds like a lot of Psycho babble," Kellie said, "Has he ever actually worked with children?"

"Well, mostly adults, but I"m sure," Kristina said.

"Do you even understand how illogical everything you're saying sounds," Kellie said, "You're making a lot of assumptions."

"But Shiloh says he's giving people the power to truly see what's going on when they come to him for help," Kristina said, "in a way traditional medicine and therapy can't."

"By telling them what to think or leading them to think from his perspective?" Kellie asked, "Do you even realize how often you've said Shiloh says in the last few months or what you say you think mirrors what something Shiloh said. Whose idea was it for you to bring Alyssa to Shiloh?"

"It as mine," Kristina said, "Shiloh did mention that you might be more receptive if so you could see for yourself his method would work for Alyssa. But he didn't say anything about actually doing anything about it."

"Of course he didn't," Kellie said, "Don't you see Kristina that his hint was intended to get you to do exactly what you did? Nothing ever Shiloh's fault if you ask, but damn he's good at setting things in motion, making people think it's their idea."

"I can think for myself just fine, thank you very much," Kristina said, "Obviously you would rather buy into your safe traditional methods rather than expand your mind. I don't know why I"m even bothering with you. You obviously can't be reasoned with.

"Says the girl who has obviously drank a little too much kool-aid," Kellie said.

I'm going to have no choice but to cut your toxic energy out of my life," Kristina continued ignoring Kellie, "If you can't support me, than I can't be around you."

"Could you explain how my choice to pursue other method and viewpoints other than the ones you and Shiloh are pushing is not supporting you?" Kellie asked.

Kristina opened to her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"That's what I thought," Kellie said, "I really hope that what you're doing is worth everything you're losing, your sister. Your niece's trust. Alyssa doesn't want to be around you after the stunt you pulled."

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Kristina said, "You're disrupting the customers."

"I'll leave," Kellie said, "But don't lie to yourself. You were disrupting the customers long before I came in. By the way, Molly's right. You are in a cult. When you finally wake up and smell what Shiloh's really selling, you know where to find me for help. Until then, don't come near any of my kids."

Kellie stormed out of Charlie's. Jason quickly followed after her, bringing Danny with him.

Jason quickly caught up to her outside.

"That was awesome," Danny said, getting her attention, "Wow. I'd heard stories about you putting people in their places. That was really cool."

"What are you doing here?" Kellie asked.

"Having fun like you told Dad to do," Danny said.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

"I'm fine," Kellie said, "No sign of nausea. Everything's good. I couldn't sit around doing nothing. I had to go see Kristina."

"I know," Jason said.

"Before you say anything else, I didn't want you feel like you needed to interrupt your time with Danny to come with me," Kellie said, "Which happened anyway…ohhh."

Kellie's hand went to her belly.

Jason went to steady Kellie unnecessarily.

"Is something wrong?" Jason asked, putting his arm around Kellie's midsection. He laid his hand next to hers.

"No," Kellie said, "I think I feel our baby moving. I don't know if you can feel it yet. It's just some light flutter type...but umm…oh damn…this is real… you and me, having a kid together. I know that make absolutely no sense."

Jason tried not to crack a smile before brushing Kellie's hair out of her face and saying, "You might want to breathe. Remember no rules to this and what ever happens."

They were interrupted by Alexis coming out of Charlie's.

"Danny," Alexis said, "Actually no, Jason what were you doing bringing Danny to see….whatever that was."

"It's not Dad's fault," Danny said, "It's mine. Aunt Kristina's the only person in more trouble than I am right now and I figured…."

"You can stop right there, Danny," Alexis said.

"And Kellie did leave without telling anyone initially," Danny said, "Including Dad. I thought we…I mean Dad should make sure she was okay after she almost like fainted this morning."

Kellie was distracting by her phone going off and stepped aside to take the call.

"That was very thoughtful of you," Alexis replied to Danny.

Alexis looked over at Kellie, "Was she about to faint just now?"

"She felt the baby move," Jason said, "For the first time."

"Can you take me home, Grandma?" Danny said, "I"m ready to go."

"If that's what you want," Alexis asked.

Danny nodded.

"Your backpack's still at the house," Jason said.

"Just drop it off with Mom one day," Danny said.

"Or next time I see you I hope," Jason said, "Unless there's something you absolutely need right away. I was hoping we could grab lunch before you went home though."

"No," Danny said, shaking his head, "I'll meet you at your car, Grandma."

Danny took off before anyone could stop him.

Jason turned to go after him before Alexis stopped him, "He hit his limit even if he does seem to have thawed some towards you and has some concern for Kellie and his sibling. Take the win. Try another day."

"I'd like to at least say goodbye to him," Jason said, catching Kellie's eye to let her know he was following Alexis.

Jason and Alexis approached Danny standing by her vehicle.

"I just wanted to tell you I had a really good time today," Jason said, "I hope we can do this again sometime."

"Maybe," Danny said, "If you have time."

"I'll have time," Jason said, "LIke say Tuesday after school. That's already on the schedule."

"I have practice," Danny said.

"I'll come watch practice and maybe we could grab dinner afterwards," Jason said.

Danny just shrugged and turned away from Jason.

"Let it go for now," Alexis said.

After Alexis and Danny left, Jason found Kellie at her vehicle.

"I'm sorry that I screwed up your time with Danny," Kellie said.

"You didn't screw up anything," Jason said, "He wanted to come when we got your message. It is a two way street and hopefully he'll figure out he could do his part to make this easier too. "

"Me too," Kellie said.

"But at least he seems to worry about his new sibling," Jason said.

"He just doesn't want to admit it," Kellie said, "Anyway, Charles called me and asked me to meet him him at the MetroCourt. Something from Helena Cassadine's estate showed up. I'll go see what that's about. Then Molly asked to come over to the house later to talk about Kristina. You missed that part, Molly and Kristina were fighting about Shiloh before I showed up. Molly told her she was in a cult."

"Hopefully, she'll figure it out soon enough," Jason said, "Why don't I come with you to see what Helena sent you."

"We honestly have no idea what it's about at this point," Kellie said, "I promise I will fill you in when I see you later. But I really think you should go do what you would normally do if I wasn't pregnant. I know that you want to be all protective of me and our child. I probably need to do a better job of letting you do things for me. But if you hover over me 24/7 from now until our kid's born, I'm going to go insane."

"As much as the two of you probably need to have this discussion," Johnny said, "We're going to be late to meet Charles if we don't leave now."

"Just call me if you need me, okay," Jason said, "We'll talk at home later."

"Thank you," Kellie said, kissing Jason before she got in the car to leave.


	47. Chapter 47

Kellie ran into Liesl as she entered the MetroCourt.

"Dr. Obrecht," Kellie said, getting Liesl's attention.

"What could you possibly want?" Liesl replied, "Unless you planned on being trapped in a cabin again?"

"And you wonder why people don't like you?" Kellie said, "You know what, not why I wanted to talk to you."

"I do have places to be," Liesl said, "Maybe you could get to the point unless you can get me in touch with Agent Gibbs."

"Why would you need me to get you in touch with Agent Gibbs?" Kellie asked, "Actually I don't want to know. And trust me when I tell you Gibbs isn't likely to take a call from someone I referred him to. Liesl, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me in the cabin and keeping me from totally losing it when I realized…well just Thank You."

"No need to thank me," Liesl said, "Just remember you can't say no when I come asking for a favor."

"Actually, I can say no," Kellie said, "If it's not the kind of favor I should be granting. I'm almost late for a meeting. Again, thank you."

Kellie rushed off as Liesl huffed and muttered, "I would have thought the mob would have taught her better manners."

Kellie was stopped by Carly on her way to the restaurant. Carly wrapped her in a big hug.

"I am so glad Alyssa is okay," Carly said, "How is she? I'm surprised you're not glued to her side."

"She seemed okay enough, I had her go to school instead of missing another day," Kellie said.

"I don't understand what Kristina was thinking," Carly said.

"Pretty sure there's a line for that," Kellie said, "Nothing I said earlier seemed to get through to her. There's nothing else I can do, but keep her away from my kids."

"That is awful. You know since you're here, why don't we set up a time to go shopping," Carly said, "Then I don't have to text you again."

"Carly, I told you I'd let you know when I was ready to do that," Kellie said, "Besides Sam gave me some things to use in the meantime."

"I still need to go shopping," Carly said, "There's no reason you can't pick up some other things for yourself."

"Carly, not now," Kellie said, "And Charles is waiting for me."

Kellie rushed off. Carly pulled out her phone and called Jason.

"You have a problem," Carly said.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked.

"I don't think Kellie's come to terms with having a baby," Carly said, "She's ignored my texts about going shopping for maternity clothes. She completely brushed me off when I tried to get her to put a date on the calendar. She doesn't even want to talk about getting the clothes she's obviously going to need."

"Carly, leave Kellie alone about shopping for maternity clothes," Jason said, "Sam gave her a few things and that seems to be working for her."

"For now," Carly said, "To say nothing of the fact that you'll need to put together a nursery."

"Which is between Kellie and I," Jason said, "along with whatever reservations Kellie has about having another kid right now."

"I don't get it, Jason," Carly said, "I figured she'd be ecstatic especially she doesn't have cancer."

"Carly, she is relieved she doesn't have cancer," Jason said, "Considering that Kellie didn't think there was any possibility she could get pregnant, you can't honestly be surprised that finding we're having a kid together would throw her for a loop."

"But it's been what a couple weeks since you found out," Carly said.

"A really crazy couple of weeks," Jason said, "Between Dante leaving, Kristina kidnapping Alyssa to see Shiloh, Danny running away, and the issues she's having at the foundation, she's been going non-stop with all of that."

"Still doesn't change Kellie's due date," Carly said, "Or the fact that she's already showing. If you're not busy, I think you should come over here and…"

"Carly, stay out of it," Jason said, "Kellie will go shopping when she's ready."

"I think you should come over anyway," Carly said.

"And Kellie will think I'm hovering," Jason said, "She asked for a little space when I offered to meet with Charles with her."

"She's is so independent when she doesn't need to be," Carly said, "How are you holding up with everything with Danny and Kellie?"

"Alright," Jason said, "I spent the morning with Danny. He was even concerned about Kellie with her morning sickness this morning. I think I've turned corner with him."

"That's great, Jason," Carly said, "I know you've been wanting to spend time with him. How do you feel about being a dad again?"

"Fine, Carly," Jason said.

"Just fine," Carly said, "The woman you are madly in love with is having your baby and all you can say is fine about it."

"Because it's fine," Jason said, "and in a lot of ways an unexpected surprise, but a good one. I just…."

"You just what, Jason," Carly said.

"I just wished Kellie's walls hadn't of gone back up with me," Jason said, "She's got a wall up with me that wasn't here before. I haven't been able to figure it out."

"Just ask her," Carly said.

"I'm not sure realizes she's put a wall up," Jason said.

"But why would Kellie feel like she needs to protect herself from you now that's she's having a baby with you," Carly said, "The two of you have been a couple and married for awhile now."

"Carly, I just have to wait her out and show I'm there for her," Jason said, "Give Kellie the space she needs."

"Wait a minute," Carly said, "You've been a couple since last year, but your marriage was a business arrangement. What exactly is the status of your relationship with Kellie now?"

"Married and having a child together," Jason said, "What exactly are…"

"Jason, you can't really be that dense," Carly said, "Have you even said the "L" word to each other?"

"Yeah, awhile ago," Jason replied, confused.

"And have the two of you discussed actually being committed and married for the rest of your lives?" Carly asked, "Because if you haven't, all Kellie knows at this point is she's in love with a man who married her for business reasons, has no idea if he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, and is now pregnant with his child."

Jason didn't answer.

"You are in love with Kellie right?" Carly said, "And want to spend to spend the rest of your lives together?"

"Yes, of course I do," Jason said, "I've thought of Kellie as my wife in every sense of the word."

"Then you need to tell Kellie that," Carly said, "Right now she doesn't know where she stands with you and that wall stays up."

"I'll figure it out," Jason said.

"Jason," Carly said, exasperated, "You can't just figure it out. You have to romance your wife. Get her away for a few days from all this craziness and focus on just the two of you. In fact, I'm going to make those arrangements for you."

"Carly," Jason said.

"You'll thank me later," Carly said, ignoring Jason's protest and hanging up.

In the MetroCourt dining room, Kellie took a seat at the table with Charles.

"How's Alyssa doing after last night?" Charles asked.

"Alright other than being scared of Kristina right now," Kellie said, "I sent her to school. Having Danny stay at the house last night also seemed to be a good distraction for her. She's a got serious case of hero worship for him right now."

"Danny stayed at the house?" Charles asked, skeptical.

"My Dad brought him there with Alyssa," Kellie explained, "When he fell asleep there, he got to stay there."

"How'd he take that?" Charles asked.

"Tried to walk right out the front door," Kellie said.

"The guards stopped him I take it," Charles said.

"I was waiting for him to try that," Kellie said.

Charles chuckled, "You definitely would have done that with some of the foster homes you were in."

"Would have, I did," Kellie said, "So what exactly did you get from Helena Cassadine's Estate?"

"You got a letter from Helena," Charles said, handing Kellie an envelope, "There conditions of Helena's will that would only be triggered if certain events occurred."

"What events?" Kellie asked, opening the envelope, finding a letter.

"All I've been told is the letter inside would explain it," Charles said, "I have a second envelope that can only be opened after you've read that letter."

Kellie read the letter, "Well, we were right about Helena being behind my tubes not being tied."

"She admitted that," Charles asked.

"In black and white," Kellie said, "And according to this the doctor that was supposed to do the procedure put in the IUD without Helena's knowledge. When I didn't turn up pregnant, Helena figured it out. She paid the doctor who did my gynecological exam in 2015 to remove the IUD. Apparently, according to this letter both doctors can no longer be found."

"That's nothing we didn't already suspect," Charles said.

"Nothing else would have happened on her end," Kellie said, "Since Helena died that same year. And Tyler was already showing symptoms of the leukemia. He probably wasn't capable of having more children by then…..That Bitch!"

Kellie managed to refrain from yelling and slamming the letter on the table so as not to cause a scene.

"Whatever Helena did," Charles said, "I doubt it's anything we can't handle. What is it?"

"Her whole reason for wanting Tyler and I to have another child was to bestow a portion of her estate on that child," Kellie said, "Leaving nothing to Jared, Jamie, or Alyssa. She wanted to create tension between all of my children, so they could prove themselves worthy of her blood running through their veins. What kind of person does that?"

"A psychotic one," Charles said.

"The jokes are on her," Kellie said, "Since I'm pregnant and the baby's not Tyler's. Helena take her so called estate and shove it."

"Hold on," Charles said, "We still have the other envelope to open. Are you finished reading the letter?"

"Yeah," Kellie nodded, "You can open it."

Charles opened the envelope and found legal documents. He looked them over. Charles grimaced.

"What is it?" Kellie asked.

"The way Helena's will and these documents are written," Charles said, "the next child you had regardless of who the father is inherits what Helena left. It's contingent on you being the mother, not whether Tyler was the father."


	48. Chapter 48

Back in the restaurant, Kellie was speechless at the news Helena had left a portion of her estate to the child she was currently carrying.

"Oh," Charles said continuing to look through the papers.

"There's more?" Kellie asked.

"If for some reason you're didn't end up having another child," Charles said, "That portion of the estate would have gone to Alyssa."

"Please tell me you're joking," Kellie said, "That left Helena an inheritance to child that may or may not be related to her while intentionally cutting a child she is related to out of the will."

"I wish I was," Charles said.

"What if I don't want it," Kellie said.

"You know that it doesn't work that way," Charles said, "You can't decide for your child not to take the inheritance. Only they can decide that when he or she is twenty-one."

"Damn her," Kellie said, "Tyler and I made it a point to keep our family out of the drama of the Cassadine estate. I get that this is Helena's estate not the actual Cassadine estate. But there really isn't a difference when it comes to the backstabbing, revenge, and mind games."

"No there isn't," Charles said, sadly,

"I'll check the papers more thoroughly to see if there's a loophole," Charles said.

"But knowing Helena, it's likely ironclad," Kellie said, "Any loopholes are designed to be a mind game or trap. I guess I'll need copies of them to show Jason."

"I'll drop them by tomorrow afternoon," Charles said, "I'll likely have more information on setting up a grants program through the casino. I have a meeting with ELQ's granting staff and legal counsel tomorrow morning."

"At least something seems to be headed in the right direction," Kellie said.

"Are you okay?" Charles asked.

"No," Kellie said, "I'm not okay with any of this. I have no idea what to do about any of it."

"Do you want my advice?" Charles asked.

"I'm sure you'll probably give it to me anyway," Kellie replied.

"I think you should quit being so hard on yourself," Charles said.

"What are you talking about?" Kellie asked.

"I've watched you spend the last few days running around doing everything you possibly could to fix everything that's gone sideways," Charles said, "I have a feeling that you think you're not doing enough."

Charles let his words hang out in the air between them.

"Am I right?" Charles asked.

"Maybe," Kellie said, reluctantly.

"Do you recall the first few months after you and Tyler got remarried and your were pregnant with the boys?" Charles asked.

"What about it?" Kellie asked.

"You had this need to be extremely independent, more so than usual," Charles replied, "Which frustrated Tyler because he wanted to do things for you and help make having twins easier for you. But you were trying to handle everything you could on your own and stressing yourself out out unnecessarily."

"I see what you're getting at," Kellie said, "But I was young and a first time mom then, I didn't understand what I was doing. Tyler and I had our future planned. But Jason and I haven't even discussed if our future is together together and…."

"Obviously that's a discussion the two of you need to have," Charles said, "But from what I can see the two of you have been husband and wife in every sense of the word. I've kind of gotten the feeling that you've been trying to handle everything yourself when you don't have to."

"Charles," Kellie started to protest.

"Can you honestly tell me that you haven't been pushing Jason away to some degree?" Charles asked.

"I don't expect Jason to handle my business for me," Kellie said, "Or to come running for every little thing. A lot of people already rely on him for that."

"Those people aren't Jason's wife," Charles said, "You are. I know you're smart enough to know that sometimes you have to handle your own stuff like the foundation and Jason may not be available every time something comes up. You're more than capable of dealing with that. But it's perfectly reasonable for you to rely on Jason and let him support you."

"What if I'm scared to?" Kellie asked before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Charles said, "Like all the other times, I have every confidence you'll make the decision that's best for you in spite of that fear."

"But there's no guarantees," Kellie started to say.

"There wasn't with Tyler anymore than there is with Jason," Charles said, "It's a leap of faith. I seem to recall you saying something about willing to take that leap into unknown future when you proposed to Tyler."

Kellie looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't.

"You can say whatever's on your mind," Charles said.

"It doesn't seem right to be having this conversation with you," Kellie said, "Or fair considering Tyler was your son and we're talking about my marriage to Jason."

"You say whatever you need," Charles said, "The only thing that matters to me is that you and the kids are happy. As far as I can tell Jason has made you happy. I've known you long enough to know that you have a tendency to be your own worst enemy when it comes to being happy, especially when things get rough. You do usually figure it out for the better. But if I can help get you there faster, I'll gladly do it."

"I really hate that you're right about that," Kellie said, "Look, Charles…it's just…"

"Just what," Charles prompted her when Kellie stopped talking.

"When I decided to be more than friends with Jason," Kellie said, "It was more about deciding to be happy in the moment and less about us having a future together. I didn't plan on falling in love with him. Even when I could finally admit that I had, given the nature our marriage and the uncertainty of our lives, I still hadn't let myself consider the possibility of committing to a future with Jason. Even though we're married, I could still tell myself on some level it was a for now thing."

"And then you got pregnant," Charles said softly.

"All the serious emotions I've been trying to avoid got really real," Kellie said, "I'm not ready for that."

"I think you're more ready than you think you are," Charles said.

"I feel guilty," Kellie said, "I fell in love with someone else, married them, and got pregnant before Tyler was even gone a year."

"Just because that you moved on before you seemed to think you should doesn't make your feelings or happiness any less important," Charles said, "The circumstances surrounding your marriage and child with Jason were outside the normal realm of moving on."

"You mean unconventional," Kellie said.

"As unconventional as your marriage to Tyler was in the beginning," Charles said, "You were engaged and planning to elope right out of high school. Then not engaged. We thought you were dead and found out you weren't dead. You and Tyler had a whole lot of back and forth about your relationship even after you married him to rescue Danny and Molly years ago."

Kellie groaned, "You can stop now. I put Tyler through so much."

"What I'm trying to say is nothing about your life has been conventional," Charles said, "I wouldn't expect your marriage to Jason to be any different. But seeing as how you're supposedly older and wiser, you might learn from your past and make things easier on you and Jason. Furthermore, don't let Helena's manipulations get to you. Don't let them tangle things up between you and Jason or keep you from enjoying being a mom to your new child. If you want to beat Helena, the best revenge is to be happy and not give this stuff with her estate a second thought. We can deal with the logistics of the inheritance in our sleep. Helena can only cause tension if you let her at this point. She is as far as we know definitively six feet under permanently."

"Let's just hope she doesn't have any more surprises up her sleeve," Kellie said.

"It will be child's playi," Charles said. His phone dinged.

"And with that," Charles said, "I have a meeting to get to."

"Thank you," Keliie said, "For the advice, but definitely not Helena's letter or will. I'm going to have to take the letter to the cops since it alludes to the fate of the two doctors."

"I'll handle it," Charles said, "in exchange for picking up my grandkids after school and having them over for pizza and a slumber party."

"They have school tomorrow," Kellie said.

"Pizza and a movie," Charles said, "They can spend the night and I'll make sure they get to school in the morning."

"And make sure they do their homework," Kellie said.

"First thing," Charles said.

"Okay, I will let the school and the guards know," Kellie said.

**Author's Note/Spoiler: Romance coming up for Jason and Kellie in the next few chapters**


	49. Chapter 49

On her way back to the house, Kellie called Jason.

"How did things go with Charles?" Jason asked, "Did you find out what Helena sent you?"

"A letter and paperwork," Kellie said, "I'll warn you it's a doozy. Let's just say Helena had a few more tricks up her sleeve."

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"The letter Helena sent outlined what we already suspected," Kellie said, "That she paid the doctor off not to tie my tubes. However, she did not authorize the IUD, the doctor did that on her own. When I didn't turn up pregnant, Helena paid my next doctor to remove it with out my knowledge during my female exam. That was around the time Tyler first got sick."

"No real surprises there," Jason said, "Did she say why she did it?"

"To leave that child a portion of her estate while leaving nothing to Jamie, Jared, and Alyssa," Kellie said, "in an attempt to create a Cassadine like feud between my children."

"That obviously failed then since Tyler didn't have another child with you," Jason said,

"Not exactly," Kellie said, "Helena worded her will in such a way that Tyler didn't have to be the father of my next child for him or her to inherit from Helena. Our child is...is Helena's heir."

Jason was momentarily stunned.

"Well we just won't accept the inheritance," Jason said.

"I already asked and Charles doesn't think we can do that," Kellie said, "He's probably right. He has to look through the paperwork more thoroughly to be sure though. He wasn't allowed to look at it until after I read the letter. I'm assuming Helena would have made sure we couldn't do that as it is. She even made arrangements for the inheritance to go to Alyssa if I didn't have another child. Even if there is a loophole, I'm not sure we'd want to touch it with a ten foot pole."

"Helena would set a loophole up as a trap," Jason said, "Do you have the papers and the letter?"

"Charles will drop copies off for us tomorrow," Kellie said, "He's also getting the police a copy of the letter in case it helps with locating the doctors at all."

"How much did Helena set aside for the inheritance?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Kellie said, "I didn't look. That was the least of my concerns."

"It's okay," Jason said, "We'll figure it out. Where are you now?"

"On my way back to the house," Kellie said, "Charles wanted to take the kids for the night. Since it's just us, I thought I'd order take out for dinner if that works for you."

"That's works," Jason said, "In fact, I'm still in town. I'll pick something up."

"That'd be great," Kellie said.

"Is Molly still coming over?" Jason asked.

"Actually, I thought I'd see if she meet tomorrow instead," Kellie said, "She wants to talk about Kristina. I need a break from all that. Then we can talk…. because I….I owe you an apology. I'm sorry that I asked you not to come with me to meet Charles. I was trying to prove that I could handle everything myself more than anything else. The truth is you had every right to be there considering Helena's manipulations affect you too. I screwed up and I'm sorry. The truth is I wanted you there, instead of going with that, I fell back into old, stupid habits."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Jason said, "and I appreciate the apology."

Kellie tried to think of a response when another call came in.

"Shoot," Kellie said, "Molly's calling me now."

"We'll continue our discussion when I get home," Jason said, "Let me know if Molly ends up coming over after all. I'll make sure to grab dinner for her as well. I have a couple of errands to run. I should be home in about an hour."

**Kellie and Jason's House**

Molly agreed to meet Kellie the next day. When Kellie arrived at the house, she took a bath, and then went into the walk-in-closet. She sorted through her clothes until she came to a sexy wine red dress with tags still on it. Kellie looked at the dress she'd intended to wear New Year's Eve but didn't when she'd fallen asleep on the couch before 8 pm after taking the kids sledding during the day. Kellie grabbed the dress and pulled the tags off it, hoping the dress would be forgiving of the changes to her figure.

Kellie changed into the dress, finding that while it hugged her body tightly, the dress was still comfortable. Looking in the mirror, Kellie saw the tightness of the dress left no question to any one looking at her, she was expecting a baby.

"Here's the deal, little one," Kellie said, running her hand along her belly, "Mommy screwed up and has some things to make up to your Daddy. All I'm asking is for all the inconvenient pregnancy symptoms to cease for tonight. That means no nausea, exhaustion, heart burn, light headedness, growing pains. If it's inconvenient and annoying, it's off limits tonight. No hormonal or emotional mood swings either."

"Are you…." Kellie heard Jason say. He trailed off as entered the room, stunned seeing Kellie in the dress. Kellie turned around startled.

"Hi," Kellie said, noticing Jason had one hand behind his back.

"This is a surprise," Jason said, putting his free arm around Kellie and kissing her.

Kellie melted into Jason, her hands playing with his jeans.

Jason nudged Kellie gently towards the bed.

"Wait," Kellie said, breathless, " What's behind your back?"

Kellie tried to keep Jason distracted with one hand while using the other hand to try to grab whatever he was holding behind his back.

"Do you have any idea what the sight of you in that dress does to me?" Jason whispered in her ear.

"You will have to let go of whatever it is you're hiding to continue this anyway," Kellie said, pressing herself tighter against Jason.

Jason groaned and stepped back as he handed Kellie a chocolate milkshake.

"You? Jason Morgan, bought me a chocolate milkshake?" Kellie said, grabbing it and sipping it through the straw.

"I wanted to surprise you," Jason said, "I know you like them."

"Is it too much to hope that there's fries to go with it?" Kellie asked.

"Yes, there are fries," Jason said, "And a burger."

"Yes!" Kellie said, "I assume those are downstairs."

"In the kitchen," Jason said, pulling Kellie back against him, "But that'll have to wait."

Jason grabbed the milkshake and set it on the nightstand and then continued kissing Kellie.

"Jason, I have plans for this dress that don't involve it coming off until later," Kellie said between kisses

"Who says your dress has to come off?" Jason said, pulling Kellie down on the bed with him.


	50. Chapter 50

**Authors Note: This is chapter is more Kellie and Jason talking through a few things. I do have more romance planned for them in the next chapters. **

_"_I really should go downstairs before my fries get cold," Kellie said, sprawled on top of Jason afterwards, "But damn…"

"I left your dress on as promised," Jason smiled and kissed Kellie's forehead.

"Smart man," Kellie said, "It'll pay off later. But you left most of your clothes on too."

"Well that dress looks very, very sexy on you, Mrs. Morgan,"; Jason said, whispered in Kellie's ear, "I left the fries and burgers in the oven to stay warm. Just in case."

"That's Corinthos-Morgan," Kellie said, kissing Jason.

"Actually it's Corinthos Alcazar Scott Morgan," Jason said.

"Now you're must making me sound pretentious," Kellie said, as Jason kissed her neck, "Especially when you throw Alcazar in there. It wasn't even legally my mother's name being as that she was adopted."

"I always wondered something about your last name growing up," Jason asked, looking up at Kellie.

"What about it?" Kellie asked.

"You introduced yourself as Kellie Riley when you first came to town," Jason said, "That was the name on all your foster system records growing up. But when we finally found your birth certificate your last name was listed as Corinthos. How is it that no one ever figured out Sonny was your father?"

"I'm not sure what name my mother was legally going by when she died," Kellie said, "I knew her as Haley Riley. I kind of suspect between the drugs, johns, and leaving a couple of towns at the drop of a hat, whatever legal documents she had might have had were probably lost and she fell off the grid. The letter my mom left about Sonny was clearly marked, "For Kellie…when she becomes an adult."

"The system had to hold on to that for you unopened until then," Jason said, "Instead you ended up in the foster system."

"Yeah," Kellie said, her hand consciously going to her belly as she got lost in thought.

"What is it?" Jason asked, brushing Kellie's hair out of her face with one hand and placing his other hand on her belly alongside hers. Jason saw the tears threatening to spill from Kellie's eyes.

"Perspective I guess," Kellie said, "When I think about my shitty childhood with my mom and a rough shake in the foster system, it makes me realize no matter how much I hate the danger that my life has brought to my children and how angry I am about being dragged into the Cassadine manipulations, at the end of the day my kids don't have to experience anything like I did. Most of the time they come home to a safe place where they know they're loved. At least I hope they feel that way. For everything I haven't been able to give them, I can at least give them that."

Jason wiped the stray tears that had trickled down Kellie's cheek, "You're doing that. Don't ever doubt that. You're a fantastic mom. You do everything you can to make sure your kids are protected and loved."

"I always worry what if it's not enough?" Kellie said.

"That's what you have me and our families and whole private army of guards for," Jason said, "You're not alone in this."

Kellie bit her lip, "Charles called me out on that today. The whole lone ranger bit I pulled when I was pregnant before. I drove Tyler up the wall. Now I've been doing it do you."

"You've always been naturally self-sufficient and independent," Jason said, "Your childhood with your mom and the foster system probably instilled that you in. Now that we're talking about it, I'd guess that being pregnant brings a lot of that back up for you whether it's subconsciously or consciously."

"I guess I never thought about it that way," Kellie said, "I just know pregnancy makes me feel really vulnerable. I assume it's worse knowing my pregnancies overall is just rough across the board for me. Between the barrage of morning sickness that requires anti-nausea drugs the entire time and how awkward and uncomfortable I feel as the baby gets bigger…I um…"

"What can I do to help you feel less vulnerable right now?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Kellie said, "The truth is I have to let my guards and what not do what I pay for for and resist any instincts I have to run head first into a situation. It's never been easy for me to do that even I know I should. That's even when I'm not pregnant."

"On one hand, I love knowing that no matter what happens, you'll fight like hell and think your way out of any situation, "Jason said, "But on the other hand, it can be frustrating when you won't let me help you. I hate seeing you stressed out this way. I want you to know that you're not alone in this. You and our child are the most important people to me right now. I'll do everything I can to make sure you're both safe physically and emotionally. That extends to Jared, Jamie, and Alyssa too."

"I want that," Kellie said, "I know I haven't made it easy for you."

"Remember when we were on the island last year," Jason said, "You let me take care of the security arrangements when we left. Did you feel like you vulnerable or unprotected in anyway?"

"No," Kellie said, "You kept me loop which free me to get the kids ready since we left in a hurry."

"We did it together," Jason said, "That's all I'm asking; to do this together. I'm not exactly sure what happened since the island, but there's nothing that dictates we had to stop relying on each other like we were after you lost Tyler and I came back."

"Well when you put it that way," Kellie said, "I just didn't think I should keep relying on you. I didn't want to take advantage of you any more than I already have"

"You're my wife, Kellie," Jason said, "and not just on paper. We obviously need to discuss that and we will. I know I've said this before, but I'll say this however many times it takes for you to believe that. You're not taking advantage of me at all. I'm exactly where I want to be with you. I love you, Kellie. I hope that's what you want too."

"Yeah, and I love you to," Kellie said. She paused and then continued, "What did you mean when you said we need to talk about me being more than just your wife on paper?"

"You need to be patient," Jason said, "You're not the only one with plans to tonight."

Kellie looked slightly surprised, "Okay."

Kellie sat up and grabbed her milkshake off the night stand. She thought for moment as she sipped it.

"As long as we're being honest," Kellie finally said, " There's one other thing we should probably talk about. If I'm being stubborn about something that's important to you, you have to speak up more."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Jason asked.

"Did you feel like it was important that you go see Charles about Helena with me today?" Kellie asked.

"I told you it was," Jason replied.

"No, you didn't," Kellie said, "You suggested you come with me which I interpreted as you just doing your Alpha male thing. You didn't actually say it was important to you to go with me."

"I guess you're right," Jason admitted.

"If I'm having one of my I have to prove I can handle everything myself moments, unless you tell me it's important I'll probably brush it off like I did today," Kellie said, "You kind of have a tendency to not speak up about what's important to you and let other people dictate what goes on. I don't want to be one more person that just expects you to go along with whatever I'm doing. I know I'm the easy person to tell something that's different from the track I'm on, but I want to try. I care about what's important to you.

"Fair enough," Jason said, "As much as I hate to say it you're right."

"Good," Kellie said, biting her lip, but waiting to see if Jason had more to say.

"You're thinking about dipping those fries in your milkshake aren't you," Jason asked.

"Guilty," Kellie said, "It is your fault though. You did provide them."

"Come on," Jason said, taking Kellie's hand and pulling her to stand up off the bed with him.

Jason led Kellie out of the bedroom and downstairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, Kellie stopped suddenly. Jason looked at Kellie, questioningly, and noticed her hand was cradling her belly gently.

"She's….or he's….moving again," Kellie said.

Jason pulled Kellie closer to him, resting his hand along side hers.


	51. Chapter 51

"It's not very strong yet," Kellie said, "I'm not sure you can feel her…or him…"

"That's okay," Jason said, "I'm just happy to share this with you."

Kellie buried her head in Jason's chest.

"What is it?" Jason asked, tipping Kellie's head back up to look at her.

"It's nothing," Kellie said, her tears falling again, "Just hormones even though I told this little one that the emotional mood swings were off limits."

Jason continued with Kellie towards the kitchen.

"When you felt the baby move outside Charlies this afternoon," Jason said, "You mentioned something about it making the pregnancy seem more real to you. Would it be a safe assumption that you're still struggling with the idea of having baby?"

"Yeah," Kellie grimace, "I feel awful about that and umm…you know what never mind….You bought flowers?"

Kellie was distracted by the breakfast table being very simply set with two place settings and a vase of flowers filled with pink, white, and orange Gerber daisies and carnations.

"Should I be worried between the milkshake and fries…"" Kellie asked as Jason pulled a chair out for her.

"I just wanted to make tonight special for you," Jason said as Kellie sat down. Jason knelt down to look at Kellie, "We've been dealing with a lot and we really haven't had time for just the two of us. Carly reminded me that I still have to remember to make you feel special. But if you don't like the flowers…"

"No, I love them," Kellie said, "They're perfect. You even got the colors right. The sunset looking effect."

"I had some help," Jason said.

"Carly," Kellie asked.

"Yes," Jason said, "She was actually trying to schedule a vacation for us otherwise. Which I am all for. But I think we need to figure that one out ourselves."

"I agree," Kellie said, "I'd like to go somewhere just us. I'd suggest the island but with the Zika virus warnings for pregnant woman down there."

"We'll figure it out," Jason said, standing up and getting the fries and burgers out of the oven.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Kellie said.

"Just relax," Jason said, "Consider me your servant for the evening."

"That has lots of interesting possibilities," Kellie replied.

"I will happily let you explore that later," Jason said, putting a plate with fries and burger in front of Kellie.

After Kellie and Jason finished their meal and Jason was cleaning up the dishes, Kellie came up behind Jason and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I think the rest of this can wait," Kellie said, kissing Jason's neck, "But I have a few ideas to explore with the whole idea of you being my servant for the rest of the night. Not mention I have my own surprise for you."

"You'll still have to wait," Jason said, turning around to face Kellie. He kissed her, "As much it kills me right now, I'm not quite done with what I had planned yet."

"You are starting to drive me insane tonight," Kellie said, kissing Jason, trying to convince him to change his mind.

"I promise afterwards, you can have your way with me for the rest of the night and however long into tomorrow," Jason replied, reluctantly, "I'll be in the family room in a few minutes. Just wait for me in there."

"You mean don't distract you," Kellie said, running her hands under Jason's shirt, "Just rinse the dishes and leave them in the sink for now."

"But if I don't finish them now," Jason said, "You'll try to beat me to doing them later."

"Leave them," Kellie said, trying to take Jason's shirt off.

Jason shook his head before carrying Kellie to the family room.

"Somedays I swear you'll be the death of me," Jason whispered in Kellie's ear. Jason sat on the couch while settling Kellie on his lap.

Kellie kissed Jason. A several moments of kissing, Jason stopped.

"We still need to finish our conversation from before dinner," Jason said, "The one I let you get distracted from when we came downstairs. About you struggling with being pregnant and something else."

"It's nothing," Kellie said.

"I don't think it's nothing,"Jason said, "I don't think it's good for you keep whatever you're feeling about the situation with Helena and being pregnant bottled up."

"I really don't want to have this conversation," Kellie said, "or admit to…"

"Admit to what?" Jason said, "Whatever it is, you can tell me. That way we can work through it together."

"I'm…" Kellie started to say and shook her head, tears threatening to fall, "This isn't fair to you."

"What don't you think is fair?" Jason asked.

"Part of me's angry," Kellie said, closing her eyes, "That Helena's plan worked and I am pregnant. I didn't want to have any more kids, Jason. I don't know what to do with that. But I don't want to be angry about it either."

"Kellie, there's no good reason I can think of that you can't or shouldn't be angry," Jason said, "Hell, I'm angry for you."

"Wait I thought you were like totally unrattled that I'm pregnant and happy with it," Kellie said.

"I love you and our child and I'm thrilled that she or he exists," Jason said, "That doesn't mean I'm not angry at the circumstances surrounding that and what Helena and those doctors did to you. I'm angry that they took away your choices about your body and they put your life at risk in the process. When Monica told me that you could actually be pregnant and the risks that were involved for you, between you possibly having an IUD and then how sick you already were, I was terrified I wouldn't get to you in time, that I'd lose you or you'd lose the baby."

"i almost lost it in the cabin, Jason," Kellie said, "When I realized that I was pregnant. I damn near panicked at the thought of losing another child in that place. Thank God, Obrecht was there to piss me off into getting out of there."

"And you're safe now," Jason said, "And you get to be angry or mad or upset about everything that's happened to between Helena and Garrett and maybe even Shiloh."

"But it seems," Kellie started to say.

"Just tell me this," Jason said, "Are you angry at our kid?"

"No," Kellie said, "It's not her fault. But I don't feel all the maternal connection with the baby or mom feelings. Charles said the best revenge I could have on Helena is to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy and our child. I don't even know how to start, particularly the being pregnant part."

"He's not wrong," Jason said, "As for how you feel about how you're connecting or bonding with our child, I think you're being too hard on yourself. I know that since we found out about the baby, your first priority is that she's taken care of. And you almost always refer to the baby as girl, any he references are an afterthought. You've got me doing that."

"I don't know why I automatically refer to her as a girl. But in my head I know there things I should be thinking about for her," Kellie said, "Like a nursery and the stuff she'll need, even maternity clothes at some point."

"We've got time," Jason said, "We've had other things on our minds. And she is completely safe inside you for the time being. All that other stuff, we'll get to when we need to. As for whatever you feel like hasn't clicked between you and baby, I wouldn't worry about it. I think that it'll just click when you're not thinking about it or expecting it. Doesn't matter if it's in the next few weeks or the first time you hold her."

"I hope it's before she's born," Kellie said.

"It'll happen," Jason said, "Your little comments like that are how I know."

Jason kissed Kellie. She was distracted enough not to notice Jason slip one arm to the side and open the side table drawer. He pulled out a jewelry box. As the kissing between them continued, Jason got distracted and almost set the jewelry box down on the table.

"Wait," Kellie said, moving slightly away from Jason, "I had my own plans for us tonight..."

"Hold on," Jason said, bringing the jewelry box where Kellie could see it, "I have something for you."

"Jewelry?" Kellie asked as Jason opened the box to reveal an Amethyst teardrop necklace with diamonds that complimented Kellie's wedding bands, "That is gorgeous. But I don't understand."

"We got married before we figured our relationship and where we headed," Jason said as Kellie a little stunned, "or if we want the marriage to be forever and more than just for your protection. Our marriage has been real in all the ways that matter to me for awhile now. I'm hoping that you feel the same way."

Jason took the necklace out of the box and set the box to the side.

"I love you, Kellie," Jason said, "and our life together. I want you to know I want to be your husband in every sense of the word, including committing our lives together. I guess what I'm asking is if you'll be my wife for the rest of our lives?"

"Yes," Kellie blurted out, still in shock and mostly speechless, "I'd love that more than anything. I don't even what else to say right now."

"There isn't anything else you have to say. You said 'Yes' and that's most important part," Jason said, repositioning Kellie slightly, turning her so he could put the necklace on her, "Since we already have wedding bands, I thought the necklace was that something could represent this moment, this commitment. Unless you think you need to have a vow renewal. We can do that too."

"No," Kellie said as Jason finished clasping the necklace around her neck, "This is perfect. I don't need a second ceremony. I just need you."

Kellie kissed Jason, "You don't have more reasons to delay or distract me do you, husband."

"No," Jason said, pulling Kellie tight against him.

Before Kellie could think about what she originally had planned for Jason, she was distracted by the kisses he placed down her neck and the feel of his hands on her. The next thing she knew they were completely lost in each other for the rest of the night.


	52. Chapter 52

**The Next Morning. **

Kellie was curled up against Jason in bed the next morning. Jason brushed Kellie's hair out of her face as she slept. Then he traced the amethyst necklace against her skin. Then he traced the outline of her body.

"Hey, there," Jason said, his hand now gently caressing Kellie's baby bump, "I'm your dad. I can't wait to meet you in a few months, along with a lot of other people out here. Until then, you've got a nice, safe spot there inside your mom. I do have a favor to ask though. Could you ease up on your mom a little bit with the morning sickness and fatigue? Let her feel better and enjoy carrying you for the next few months a little more."

Kellie stirred as she slowly woke up.

"Good morning," Jason said.

"Morning," Kellie said, curling up tighter against Jason, "Did I hear you talking to our child?"

"I was trying to negotiate better terms for the pregnancy for you," Jason said, "I figured it couldn't hurt to ask our child to ease up on the nausea and other symptoms.

"It's a nice thought, but highly unlikely," Kellie replied.

"I figured it was worth a shot," Jason said.

"If anyone could convince our unborn kid to make pregnancy easy," Kellie said, "It would probably be you."

"So what exactly were your plans for us last night?" Jason asked.

"Strip Pool," Kellie said.

"That would have been the shortest game ever," Jason said, "You didn't have much to take off in that dress."

"So you're assuming you would have hustled me out of my clothes right away," Kellie said, "That's cute. But no, my dress would have been the last piece of our clothes staying on."

Jason gave her a skeptical look.

Kellie hit him with a pillow, "What was that look for?"

"Consider we never actually finish a game of strip pool," Jason said, "I think you're over exaggerating."

"I had this whole plan to tease you the entire game," Kellie said.

"More like torture," Jason replied, "Although you pretty much accomplished that anyway. If you think about it, I won at Strip Pool before we even got started."

"There wasn't even a game," Kellie said as Jason grabbed the pillow before she could hit him with it again.

"Your dress was the first thing to come off," Jason said, "I'd say I won."

"That's debat-…" Kellie said as Jason cut her off with a kiss.

"That's not…" Kellie protested when Jason continued kissing her. Kellie found herself relaxing into Jason's body and letting him distract her.

Awhile later, Kellie was tracing Jason chest with her hands.

"What the odds we can stay here all day?" Jason asked.

"The odds are good for all morning," Kellie said, "But I could only put Molly off until about noon today. And I wanted to go see Uncle Lo today. I think I might be able to get access to the foundations financial records."

"How so?" Jason asked.

"Uncle Lo's still officially works for the foundation," Kellie said, "They can't fire him without it looking like wrongful termination. I'm pretty sure he still has his logins to the system. I just need to know his passwords and where his laptop is."

"Rather than look for a laptop that some people may not want to see you with," Jason said, "You might see if Spinelli can get you the information with just Lorenzo's passwords."

"Okay," Kellie said, "That's actually a good idea. So what are the odds I could convince you to bring me breakfast in bed?"

"I could just have Johnny take care of it," Jason said, "And leave it outside the door. That would leave me free to do other things with you."

"Well, currently your kid is sitting on my bladder," Kellie said, "I'm going to need a few minutes to relieve that situation."

"My kid?" Jason replied.

Kellie shrugged, "Just consider yourself lucky you didn't knock me up with twins. Considering you are a twin and I gave birth to one set of twins already, we probably had a really high chance of ending up with twins."

Jason shook his head, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Just a bagel and cream cheese," Kellie said, kissing Jason before moving from the bed,, "I'm easy, at least in that regard."

After Jason and Kellie had eaten their breakfast, they were curled back up in bed together.

"I wish we had more days like this," Kellie said.

"Like what?" Jason asked.

"Just you and me with each other," Kellie said, "being able to shut out the rest of the world and the crazy."

"Maybe we just need to plan nights where the kids are with Charles or Olivia or Sonny & Carly," Jason said, "and we plan to stay in."

"I'd like that," Kellie said.

"Do you have any idea where you want to go on a vacation?" Jason asked.

"Some place warm, with a beach," Kellie said.

"I think I know a place," Jason said, "in Southern California. Next to the island that is probably your favorite place."

"You'd be okay with that," Kellie asked, "That was my home with Tyler and the kids for a long time."

"You should get to go back to visit places you love," Jason said, "if you want to. Especially that one. If we were going to the island, it would be the same deal. You spent a lot of time there with Tyler too. I just want to take you some place that makes you happy. Since the island is currently not an option, I figured California would be the next best thing. But if you want to go somewhere else, that's okay too."

"I'd love to go to California," Kellie said, "It's just I haven't been back since Tyler's funeral."

"We could go further south," Jason said, "Like say San Diego. And just find ourselves a beach house and just shut out the rest of the world."

"Make our own memories," Kellie replied, "I'm curious, where would you want to go if you could go anywhere?"

"Anywhere you are," Jason said.

"Come on," Kellie said, "There has to be some place you want to go see."

"There are some places in Europe I love to take you," Jason said, "Spain, Italy, and France. Out in the countryside. I'd love to go riding out there with you."

"Our own personal motorcycle trip," Kellie said, "Stop whenever we feel like it. I miss riding."

"I know," Jason said, "In few months…and then sometime after the baby's born and she's old enough to be away from us for a few nights, we could take that motorcycle trip."

"I'm going to hold you to it," Kellie said.

"Out of curiosity, do you…" Jason said, "Do you know what you want to do when the baby's born? As far working verses staying home. If you don't have an answer that's okay."

"I honestly don't know," Kellie said, "I stayed home with the boys and Alyssa. But I worked from home on getting the foundation up and running and expanding both times. And now I'd moved to consulting with law enforcement as it was. There may be something I could do remotely. But with not working with the foundation and that whole mess, who knows. And then's part of me that kind of like the idea of just taking time off work just to be mom. But I've never really done that."

"If that's what you want," Jason said, "There's no reason you can't. There's no rush to decide."

"Good," Kellie said, straddling Jason, "because there's other things I'd rather focus on."

"Really," Jason said, pulling Kellie back down against him, "What would that be?"

"You," Kellie said, she proceeded to whisper in Jason's ear just how she planned to do that.

Before she could finish, Jason was kissing her and pulling the covers back over them.


	53. Chapter 53

Eventually, Kellie and Jason got up for the day.

Kellie was waiting for Molly in the kitchen.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase," Molly said, "Kristina and Sam are in a cult. I'm hoping you can help me to get them to see reason."

"Sit down, Molly," Kellie said.

"You don't seem surprised," Molly said.

"My friends at NCIS gave me a heads up about that," Kellie said, "I was also at Charlie's yesterday before you left."

"So you saw how unreasonable Kristina is and that Sam's going right a long with her," Molly said, "I guess you'd already know considering Kristina's the one who took Alyssa to see Shiloh. Wait is Kristina okay? I'm assuming you had words for her."

"I had more than a few words for her," Kellie said, "None of which made any difference. I can't have her anywhere near my children unless something changes with her."

"Couldn't the foundation investigate Shiloh?" Molly asked, "You can ask them to look into his activities. What he's doing is taking advantage of people, preying on them."

"The Foundation refuses to investigate," Kellie said, "Even though we have communicated information to them that the situation warrants looking into. NCIS and Jason found a connection between Shiloh and Garrett."

You're in charge of the whole foundation, you founded it," Molly said."

"Molly, I no longer have any power or authority at the foundation," Kellie said, "The Board voted me and Charles completely out."

"What? They can't do that," Molly said.

"They can and they did," Kellie said.

"Why?" Molly asked.

"The reasons don't matter," Kellie said, "What matters is looking into Shiloh and Garrett's activities and any connections they may have to the staff at the Foundation."

"You're doing your own investigation," Molly said, "And you think that you were kicked out because Shiloh has people on the inside."

"That's how cult leaders or enemies work," Kellie said, "Get your people on the inside, maneuver anyone who's not on board with you out if you can't convince them of your cause."

"So what do we do now?" Molly said.

"You do nothing," Kellie said, "These are dangerous people, Molly. Especially if the connection to Garrett turns out to be true. Let me handle it."

"It might be too late for that," Molly said.

"What did you do?" Kellie asked.

"I asked Peter August to let me write an article exposing Dawn of Day as a cult," Molly said, "He agreed to it, provided I also write a piece on the Cassadines."

"Molly," Kellie said, "I don't like this."

"I'm going forward with it," Molly said, "Regardless of what you have to say. It's another angle we can take in addition to whatever you're doing."

"Forward with it how?" Kellie asked.

"I need to get information or proof," Molly said, "I was hoping you could help me with that."

"Here's the deal, you stick to research only for your article," Kellie said, "No sneaking around to get proof or confronting people for the article. If you get into trouble for find something that requires checking out in person, you call me. We'll come get you or put together a plan for following up on that information without putting you in the cross fire."

"You can always call me if Kellie's not available," Jason said, joining them.

"So what exactly will you be doing to blow Shiloh's game out of the water," Molly asked.

"I have several private investigators looking into a few leads," Kellie said, "I'm working to switch the donations from the Casino into a grant which would require complete access into the Foundations books."

"And what else" Molly asked.

"That's it," Kellie said.

"Tell that to someone that hasn't grown up watching you pull off some crazy stunts over the years," Molly said, "Your plans are never that simple. Nor are you capable of sitting on the sidelines."

"I have to sit this one out, Molly," Kellie said, "I can't put myself in the line of fire, not when it means risking my unborn child's life, but also risking my children growing up with out a mother if the situation gets too dangerous."

"Sam and Kristina are my sisters, I need to know," Molly said, "You have to have some end game in mind."

"As far as Sam is concerned, her interest in Dawn of Day isn't what it seems," Kellie said, "She has no illusions about what Shiloh's doing. You'd be best to leave that alone and let it go. If there were other plans, it would be strictly need to know."

Molly looked unhappy with Kellie's answer.

"We've got this handled," Jason said, "Trust us to know what we're doing. Who knows the research you do for your article could end up being a major help. Otherwise focus on your classes and spending time with TJ."

"Okay," Molly said, "But if you think of something I could help with, I want to hear from you. I hate knowing that slime ball Shiloh is taking advantage of Kristina and who knows how many others.

"Deal," Kellie said, "I want Shiloh gone just as much if not more than you do."

"What can you tell me about the connection between Garrett and Shiloh?" Molly asked, "I might need that information for my article."

"There's a picture putting them both in the middle east at the same time," Jason said, "Along with another person who ran a harem type cult. It's possible they may be modeling the cult after that harem set up and using it as a cover for human trafficking."

"That's disgusting," Molly said, "And Law enforcement has no interest in pursuing."

"The one agency that has justification to do so," Kellie said, "Has someone putting a stop to investigating further. But the FBI is watching Shiloh's finances because no one is sure where his money initially came from."

"We just have to wait for him to slip up," Jason said.

"This is just so wrong that a pervert like Shiloh get to walk around doing whatever," Molly said.

"Shiloh will be handled," Kellie said, "There's no way in hell I'm letting perverts run me out of my own foundation with out a fight. Shiloh and whoever else he's working with won't know what hit them."

"Good," Molly said, failing to resist the urge to crack a smile, "Let's talk about happier things like where did that necklace come from. I haven't seen the one before."

"Jason gave it to me," Kellie said.

"I'm impressed," Molly said as Jason quietly snuck away, "Especially since it matches your wedding bands. What's the occasion?"

"It's our way of saying our marriage is real," Kellie said, "That our marriage is more than just for mine and the kids protection."

"It's about time," Molly said.

"What do you mean?" Kellie said.

"I just mean I'm glad you two are like official official," Molly said, "It just felt like you had been for awhile. I'm happy that both you and Jason found love again and are expecting a baby."

"Molly," Kellie replied.

"I know that Baby Morgan or Corinthos Morgan was a surprise," Molly said, "But aren't you excited to think about a nursery and buying baby clothes."

"Molly, I can hardly think about that yet," Kellie said.

"No…tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing," Molly said.

"And that would be what?" Kellie asked.

"Using all the injustice and insanity with Garrett, Shiloh, and the foundation to avoid thinking about having another kid," Molly said, "because having a kid is normal and you don't know what to do with normal."

"I have over five months left to go in this pregnancy," Kellie said, "I've got time for normal."

"I'm willing to bet you don't have any baby things left over from Alyssa and the boys," Molly said, "wait….your baby shower."

"I do not need baby shower," Kellie said, "Been there done that."

"Try telling that to Carly and Olivia when they ask about a baby shower," Molly said, "Do you really think they'll let you get away with not having a baby shower? You know they'll plan one, not tell you, and just surprise you with it."

"You couldn't just let me not worry about that," Kellie replied.

"Nope," Molly said, "because I want to plan your baby shower unless Carly or Olivia or someone else has already called dibs."

"You're the first one to bring it up," Kellie said, "but really Molly, it's fine."

"Just hear me out," Molly said, "Think of it as providing me with a distraction from everything with Kristina and Shiloh."

"And?" Kellie asked.

"If you let me plan your shower," Molly said, "I promise to keep it low-key. Think about it, we'll just rent out the Floating Rib with food, pool, drinks, darts. No other games. Just some tunes on the juke box. People can come and go as they please."

"I actually really like that idea," Kellie said.

"So you'll let me do it," Molly asked, "Please…."

"Okay, you can plan a small baby shower," Kellie said.

"Thank you," Molly said, hugging Kellie, "I promise you won't regret this. All you'll have to do is show up and put together a baby registry."

"As long as it looks like what you talked about," Kellie said, "Have at it."

**Rehab Center**

Kellie was about to enter Lorenzo's room when she realized he had a visitor. She heard Alexis's voice through the door.

"Excuse me for being concerned about my father's daughter," Alexis said, "I don't appreciate you making it into any more than that."

Kellie waited outside while Alexis and Lorenzo continued the conversation.

"I heard what you said at the hospital," Lorenzo wrote on the tablet he used to communicate what he wanted to say when the words wouldn't come.

"Heard what exactly?" Alexis asked, "I mean you were so out of it at the hospital. I doubt you know what was real and what wasn't."

"That you need me," Lorenzo wrote, "When you were pleading with me to live."

"That is ludicrous," Alexis said.

"That's not exactly a denial," Lorenzo wrote, half smirking at Alexis.

"I don't even know why I bother," Alexis said, storming out of the room.

"Hi Alexis," Kellie said, sitting in the chair outside the room.

"Kellie," Alexis said surprised, "You didn't have to wait outside. Actually next time I get the idea to show concern for your uncle, interrupt. Because right now I'd prefer to strangle him."

"That's different from any other day how," Kellie replied, trying not to laugh, "Maybe I'm the last person that should be giving you this advice consider my track record with relationships and pushing people away. But anyone watching the you and my uncle can tell there's something there still, maybe you should actually do something about it for once. Even if it doesn't work out at least you'd resolve it one way or the other."

"Our relationship was resolved years ago," Alexis said, "When he didn't tell me he was working for the government and then broke up with me when his cover was blown."

"You never even really got started," Kellie said, standing up and moving towards Lorenzo's room, "and that's probably why neither one of you can actually move on from the other."

"Let's not discuss my relationship, actually lack of relationship with your uncle," Alexis said, "How is the little bundle of joy?"

"Growing," Kellie said, "Healthy. That's all the important stuff."

"I guess you're right," Alexis said, "How's Alyssa? I could wring Kristina's neck for what she did."

"She seems to be bouncing back," Kellie said, "She doesn't want to be around Kristina. I frankly don't want Kristina around her or the boys right now."

"I can't say that I blame you," Alexis replied, "She and Molly are at odds."

"I know," Kellie said, "I was at Charlie's yesterday when they were fighting. And I saw Molly this morning."

"I have no idea what my youngest daughter has planned in regards to this Dawn of Day thing," Alexis said, "But if she asks you for help, please encourage to focus on her studies. She doesn't need to get any more mixed up into this than she already is."

"When Molly sets her mind to something," Kellie said, "She's going to dig in. However, she did ask me for help. We established some ground rules and convinced her to let me and my people look into the bulk of the situation. She asked to plan my baby shower, so she'll be busy with that too."

"Are you nuts?" Alexis asked, "Carly probably thinks she has dibs on planning your baby shower."

"Molly asked first and I liked her ideas," Kellie said, "And Carly's getting ready to have another baby too and she's got her hands full with Josslyn and Avery. She doesn't need the extra stress."

"Carly probably won't see it that way," Alexis said, "Just promise me that if Carly causes Molly any grief, you'll intervene."

"Of course," Kellie said, "But I'm pretty sure Molly can hold her own on this one."


	54. Chapter 54

Kellie got Lorenzo's passwords and was surprised to learn Jason had retrieved the laptop for her. After having Spinelli take an image of Lorenzo's computer and foundation records, Kellie started looking through the accounting records over the next week.

"Calvin's been funneling money out of the foundation," Kellie said, "There's expenditures in here that make no sense and several massive donations to Dawn of Day. Some of these wire transfers look odd. There's payments to the rescue coordinator. How the hell did the board sign off on these expenditures? It takes two signatures."

Jason was looking over Kellie's shoulder, "It looks like the second signature is always Arnold. Isn't he one of your board members?"

"Yeah," Kellie said, "Damn."

"Can you turn this over to the police?" Jason asked.

"Considering the fact that I was fired from the foundation," Kellie said, "And am using Lorenzo's access to view these records, that might be problematic. I need a lawyer."

"What about Charles?" Jason asked.

"He was fired too," Kellie said, "I need someone impartial if anything goes down in court. Do you think Diana could advise on this one?"

While they were waiting for Diane, Kellie got a phone call from Calvin.

"What happened to the donations from the Casino?" Calvin demanded to know, "The monthly donation didn't come through and when I went to ask where it was, I was told the donations were put temporarily on hold while casino worked out a new arrangement. The Foundation needs those funds."

"The Foundation should have a cushion for a couple of months," Kellie said, "Without the donations. Did you really think I'd continue donating carte blanche with no access to the foundation financial information? Charles will be in touch about the new donation structure. You'll be requesting reimbursement for expenditures from now on."

"We need that payment now especially since ELQ has decided to charge us rent for the building," Calvin said, "There's no need to change the donation structure and I hope you'll have a word with your brother about the rent."

"ELQ business is ELQ business. You'll have to take that up with ELQ directly. Any further concerns about the donations need to be directed to the Casino's legal counsel or Charles," Kellie replied and hung before Calvin could respond.

"Calvin burned through the Foundation's cash reserves with his spending," Kellie said to Jason, "He noticed the donation didn't come through and is demanding the casino pay the donation as usual."

"You can get Calvin and Arthur for fraud," Jason said, "But can you tie it to Shiloh, Garrett, or whoever at NCIS is stopping the investigations."

"There's also the rescue coordinator," Kellie said, as the guard let Diane in, "Who claims I threatened him. But no we can't tie the expenditures to the rest yet. Dawn of Day received some of the money, but we'd need proof they accepted the funds knowing it wasn't a legitimate donation. We'll need a forensic accountant to look into everything."

"What exactly would you need a forensic accountant for?" Diane asked, entering the study.

"A forensic accountant to look into questionable expenditures at the Foundation," Kellie said.

"Which you no longer work for," Diane asked, "Leading me to wonder how you would come into knowledge of such expenditures."

"Hypothetically, my Uncle Lorenzo who has not been fired and still works for the foundation may have had some concerns about the activity at the foundation," Kellie said, "Since he wasn't sure who to trust at the foundation and isn't really able to look at the information himself, he gave me his login information for this laptop and foundation accounts and asked me to take a look, set his mind at ease. If I were to find expenditures that looked suspicious, how would I make sure it was something the police could use."

"Because any suspects will have a field day with chain of custody," Diane said, "Hypothetically how would you have come into possession of your uncle's work computer."

"Jason picked it up for me," Kellie said, "We wouldn't access the records directly from the laptop. We would have a specialist make a copy of the computers hard drive to access from another computer"

"Leaving the original computer untouched and preventing anyone from saying you tampered with the records, that is at least verifiable," Diane said, "At least you're thinking ahead. You need to get written consent from Lorenzo to access the computer, preferably in front of a notary and a doctor who can attest he's of sound mind. Then provide the original computer and login credentials into the forensic accountant you referred to and let them figure out who to involve the police once he conducts his initial investigation. He also may be able to work with your private investigators which I'm sure you've employed."

"Thank you, Diane," Kellie said.

"I can draft a document for Lorenzo to sign or have someone sign attesting he consents to you taking his work laptop to a forensic accountant," Diane said, "You'll also need to document the chain of custody for the forensic accountant."

"If you could do that," Kellie said, "That would be great."

"I know you generally use your father-in-law as your legal counsel," Diane said, "But in this instance since Charles was fired as well, I believe the courts would consider him to have a conflict of interest to represent you in this matter if it comes to that. "

"I will pay you a retainer to handle this matter," Kellie said, "For me and Charles should he get dragged into this."

"I do have one question," Diane replied, "Do you have any concerns about my representing you giving the impression of stronger ties to Jason and Sonny's line of work? Some people may see it that way since I do represent them as well."

"At this point, people already think that," Kellie said, "I might as well quit trying to pretend the perception isn't there. The reason the foundation gave for firing me was that even the rumor of becoming pregnant with Jason's child made the perception of me being involved in Jason and Sonny's business undeniable. You representing me in this matter can't do any more damage. I need someone independent of the foundation and my family should there be any questions about the fraudulent transactions. I highly doubt these people are going to play nice. I need a shark in the courtroom and you definitely qualify. Are you in?"

"I look forward to representing you," Diane said, "You'll let me know if you should need my service regarding the foundation. In the meantime, I think we should discuss your lawsuit for wrongful termination."

"I'm not suing the foundation for firing me," Kellie said.

"Excuse me if I'm wrong," Diane said, "But I thought I just heard you say the foundation fired you for getting pregnant. You may have grounds for a lawsuit."

"That was just the excuse they gave," Kellie said, "I'm pretty sure if I wasn't pregnant they would have come up with some other excuse."

"That doesn't change the fact they used your pregnancy to terminate, directly or indirectly," Diane said, "By not fighting back with a lawsuit, you're doing a disservice to woman everywhere."

"So I'm going to sue for money that would be better spent on helping the people the foundation tries to help," Kellie said.

"Money if your hypothetical concerns are correct, isn't going there as it is," Diane replied, "At least if you win the lawsuit, you could donate the money back once you've cleaned house. It's more about the principle of the matter."

"I think you should consider Diane's advice," Jason said, "You wouldn't advise someone in your situation not to speak up especially if they came to the foundation for help."

"No," Kellie said, "I wouldn't. The foundation would provide an attorney if there was a case."

"You cannot do any differently," Diane said, "Otherwise you're not standing up for the values of the foundation. If the founder of Crossing Into Dawn doesn't stand up for herself like she would for anyone who came to the foundation for help, then it will be difficult for those people who need help to take you seriously."

"I also didn't want to create a PR nightmare for the foundation," Kellie said.

"You already have one," Diane said, "When it gets out the about the fraud, that's a foregone conclusion. You need to do damage control and the wrongful termination suit along with working with a forensic accountant and police to bring it light will do it. I highly doubt you can hide the fact you were terminated. Given your notoriety, someone will notice eventually. It's better if you're proactive about the situation."

Kellie considered her options.

"Okay, You can look into the matter and see if we even have a case we can move forward with," Kellie said."

"I knew you'd see reason," Diane said, "Who was present for your firing?"

"Charles, Johnny, and the Executive Director," Kellie said, "The receptionist informed me the protocols had changed when our keys and badges wouldn't work."

"That's a start," Diane said, "Something else to consider is that we will want to determine the Foundations value as part of this process which may mean access to financial records. That may provide another avenue for turning up any discrepancies."

"I forgot how good you are," Kellie said.

"That's what I'm paid for," Diana said, moving towards the door, "I'll get started on those matters and be in touch. Jason can get you in touch with my assistant for payment."

"That's easy enough," Jason said, opening the door for Diane to find Spinelli standing there about to knock.

"Your timing is fortuitous," Spinelli said, "I have news on.."

"I'll leave you to it," Diane said, maneuvering around Spinelli and leaving .

"Inside Spinelli," Jason said, "Is this Kellie's matter or the coffee business?"

"Kellie's matters," Spinelli said as Jason ushered him into the study.

"Spinelli, I wasn't expecting to see you," Kellie said.

"Well I have news on the investigation into the foundation and Shiloh that wanted to share post haste," Spinelli said, "And see how you and baby Corinthos-Morgan were faring."

"We're faring fine," Kellie said, "what do you have for me?"

"Shiloh and Calvin were room mates in college," Spinelli said, "And they have stayed friends over the years. In fact Calvin even spent time in Beecher's Corner and in Canada where Shiloh claims to have seen the light or dawn of his nonsense."

"We have a connection," Kellie said, "That's a start. Anything else. Some of Calvins know associates include people arrested as part of that sex cult that was shut down out of New York, Calvin as questioned about possible involvement, but appeared to have been dropped as a person of interest."

"Okay, so Shiloh and Garrett, a known sex trafficker, had ties to Petrov who ran his own harem and cult that didn't community service like Dawn of Day," Kellie said, "Now Shiloh has a friend who associated with the New York cult that is now working at Crossing Into Dawn which is supposed to fight that sort of thing. Shiloh should be at least looked at by our rescue team, but isn't. It's all circumstantial."

"We need proof that Shiloh, Garret, and Calvin were engaged in some form of human trafficking," Jason said, "There's no proof."

"Except for fraud at the foundation," Kellie said.

"That is despicable that your brainchild for goodness is being used for nefarious purposes," Spinelli said, "but when did fraud enter the pictures."

"You know how I had you image Lorenzo's work hard drive," Kellie said, "a cursory review of the financial activity shows questionable disbursements being made to Dawn of Day, Calvin, and other transactions. Diana was here advising us on how to get that information to the police. I would like to review the imaging you have of Lorenzo's computer, look at the transactions, and see if you pick up on anything that helps with the investigation into the foundation and the parasites using it to shield themselves from any legal recourse."

"I will do so with utmost haste," Spinelli said, "We will right this travesty."

After Spinelli left, Curtis called.

"The background check on the rescue coordinator turned up some interesting information," Curtis said, "The man was up to his eyeballs in debt."

"Was?" Kellie asked.

"He owed some shady characters," Curtis said, "Now all of sudden debts are gone, I have no idea where the extra income could have come from."

"Wouldn't be a stretch to consider that someone paid him not to take my calls and to say I threatened him?" Kellie replied.

"That could be," Curtis said.

"You wouldn't happen to know what places he likes to frequent," Kellie asked, "in case I should happen to run into him."

"How did I know that as coming?" Curtis said, "Yes, I do know a few bars he likes to haunt and what times. Though I do have a suggestion. It's unlikely he'll open up to you. But a complete stranger he might. I could show up at one of his haunts and fish for information."

Kellie didn't reply right away.

"I know you probably want to do this yourself," Curtis said, "But you have no idea how he'll react if you push him for answers."

"I know you're right," Kellie said, "And I have to consider that I'm not 100% in my current condition either. It doesn't mean I have to like it."

"So you'll let me me do the follow up on this," Curtis said.

"Yes," Kellie said.


	55. Chapter 55

Over the next few days, Diana had the agreement for Lorenzo to authorize Kellie to retain an forensic accountant and look through the foundation records drafted and Lorenzo signed it.

While she was waiting for more information from the accountant, Spinelli, and Curtis, Kellie got a phone call from a blocked number.

Kellie didn't even get to say hello when she heard Gibbs voice on the line.

"Corinthos, what kind of stunt are you trying to pull?" Gibbs asked.

"What stunt?" Kellie asked.

"You can't really expect me to buy that you didn't arrange for your cousin to have a tour of all the Sec Nav and NCIS offices," Gibbs said, "I have no idea what you're hoping to accomplish. But sending some college kid to snoop…"

"Wait a second…Are you telling me that Molly is in D.C. at NCIS like right now?" Kellie replied.

"Kellie had no idea I was coming here," Kellie heard Molly yell in the background.

"I have to give it to both of you," Gibbs said, "You really made sure your stories lined up."

"Just put the phone on speaker, Gibbs," Kellie said, "….Please."

"This oughta be good," Gibbs said, switching the phone on speaker.

Hi, Kellie," Molly said, innocently.

"Don't "Hi Kellie" me," Kellie replied, "What are you doing at NCIS and why does Special Agent Gibbs think you were snooping?"

"I have to write a report on a law enforcement agency," Molly said, "I wanted to pick an agency no one typically writes about. Diane and Mom made arrangements to get a me tour of NICS and Sec Nav."

"Please tell me there is actually report for school to write on this," Kellie asked, exasperated.

"Oh there is," Molly said.

"And Gibbs thinks you're snooping why?" Kellie asked.

"There was no snooping," Molly said.

"Then what exactly do you call rifling through files in a room that was not part of the tour?" Gibbs interjected.

"Snooping," Kellie said, "Molly, what were you looking for? Before you even think up some legal excuse don't bother. We both know I have a gift for turning it around on you or anyone else for that matter."

"After Gibbs leaves the room," Molly said.

"Oh no," Kellie said, "Even I know better than to try and pull that one. You got busted. He wants answers."

"Shiloh's file," Molly answered.

"If you had told me this little plan you cooked up," Kellie said, "I would have told you it's been classified. Gibbs and his boss can't even get access to the file."

"You really didn't know," Gibbs said.

"I would not have authorized this and Molly knows it," Kellie said.

"Which is exactly why I didn't tell you," Molly said.

"And therefore broke our deal," Kellie said.

"If you had shared all relevant information to my article," Molly said, "I would have known this might not turn out like I planned."

"What article is she taking about?" Gibbs asked.

"The one I'm writing exposing Dawn of Day as a cult," Molly replied.

"I thought you were a law student," Gibbs said.

"I am," Molly said.

"First off," Kellie said, "in case I wasn't clear in our discussion on this matter the first time, you are in no uncertain terms to do any research that would put you in the position as acting as a private investigator or a cop or a federal agent. If you got into anything or had a lead that might end up in a dangerous situation, you were supposed to let me know. If Shiloh is connected to Garrett and any other people of his sort, they're not going to think twice about silencing you if they perceive you as a threat. Considering we already suspect that someone at NCIS or Sec Nav is putting a stop to the investigations, you could have put yourself in the line of fire."

"The foundation's director, Calvin has a sister, Alicia Darrington who works for Sec Nav," Molly said, "Their father is a senator."

"Do I even want to know how you found this out?" Kellie asked.

"I saw the name plate on her office door and googled it," Molly said, "So my little field trip paid off and you're welcome."

"Gibbs, I'll have plane waiting to pick her up the airport," Kellie said, "I'll send you the details."

"But what about my report?" Molly asked.

"I'm sure that you've seen enough that your genius brain can write that report blindfolded and in your sleep," Kellie replied, "You will be getting on the plane and I'm sure your mom will agree with me. I've got another call. Is there anything else you need from me, Gibbs?"

"I'll call you later," Gibbs said, "And I'll make sure this trouble maker gets on the plane."

"Considerate yourself fortunate, Gibbs," Kellie said, "Molly's supposed to be the good one in our family."

"Seriously," Gibbs said as Kellie hung up. She quickly made arrangements for a plane to pick up Molly and sent the details to Gibbs.

Kellie saw the call from Spinelli had gone to voice mail. Before she could call back, Jason called her.

"Spinelli's been trying to get a hold of you," Jason said, "He found a link between Calvin and NCIS. His sister work's for Sec Nav."

"I'm going to kill Molly," Kellie said.

"What does Molly have to do with any of this?" Jason asked.

"I couldn't take Spinelli's call because I was on the phone with Special Agent Gibbs," Kellie said, "Molly arranged to take a trip to NCIS for school. Gibbs caught her snooping and reamed me out for my nonexistent part in Molly's plan to find Shiloh's files.."

"I can't imagine he was thrilled," Jason said.

"No, he was not," Kellie said, "I've arranged for a plane to bring Molly back. I'll call Spinelli back. I'm going to have him search Lorenzo's computer files for Calvin's background check. I'm pretty sure that information on his sister didn't show up in our background check. According to Molly, she only had to search for Calvin and his sister using Google to find the connection."

"Who did the background check if the board wouldn't let Lorenzo do it?" Jason asked.

"The rescue coordinator," Kellie said, "Obviously telling everyone I threatened him isn't the only shady thing he's done."

**The Floating Rib**

Curtis was sitting at the bar when the Foundation's rescue coordinator, Evan Walsh came in. Evan walked sloppily up to the bar, showing signs of already having had a few drinks.

"Bartender, I want a bottle of your finest Johnny Walker," Evan slurred, flashing wads of cash.

"I can't serve you any more alcohol," Mac replied, "If the liquor board came in, they'd fine me for over serving you. Do you want water or soda or something to eat?"

"Aw come on, man," Evan said, "I need to celebrate my big win at the haunted star tonight."

"That's a lot of cash you're flashing around," Curtis said, "What's your game? Maybe you could share some tips with me?"

Mac flashed a strange look at Curtis before realizing that Curtis was fishing for information on a case.

"It's not all from the casino," Evan replied, "We'll just call it an advance on my promotion."

"Congratulations," Curtis said, "Surely, Mac, you could let me buy my new friend here a round to celebrate his good fortune?"

"Sure," Mac said, warily. He noticed Jason come in with Drew as another guest tried to slip out discreetly. Jason and Drew started a game of pool.

"So where do you you work and what's the promotion for?" Curtis asked.

"Crossing Into Dawn," Evan said, "It's not official yet, but the Director of Rescue Operations will be mine."

"I thought the current director was only on medical leave," Mac asked, setting a drink in from of Evan.

"Once the time is right he'll be let go," Evan said like it was no big deal, "The board hasn't been happy with the criminal element he and his niece hang around with."

"Isn't his niece the founder of the foundation," Curtis asked, "Seems like that might be a difficult."

"The board sacked the Corinthos bitch," Evan said, "for getting knocked up with Jason Morgan's bastard and threatening me, or so I said."

Evan was loud enough several patrons, including Jason and Drew and Diane and Max who were dining in a corner. Mac looked over at Jason and Drew, concerned.

Drew blocked Jason's path to keep him from confronting Evan.

"He's not worth it," Drew said quietly, Not unless you want to spend the night at the PCPD. I'm pretty sure Kellie would rip you a new one, especially if Curtis is working him for information right now."

"I'm supposed to just let him get away with calling my wife a bitch and child a bastard in front of me," Jason said.

"Here's the deal, if he doesn't go down for his part in all this," Drew said, "I'll help you go after him. Unless your wife makes it so we don't have to by the time she's finished with him."

Max had discreetly made his way over to Jason and Drew, "Drew's right. You'll make Diane's job that much harder if you attack the guy in public. Granted Kellie will probably make sure the guy is finished, but count me in if we need to finish the job."

"Fine," Jason said.

"Your shot," Drew said, as Max went back to Diane.

"So about your big win at the Haunted Star," Curtis asked, changing the subject, "I was serious what tips can you give me?"

"Trade secret," Evan said, noticing his glass was empty.

"Another round?" Evan asked.

"Nope," Mac said, "Not even if your new friend here buys."

"I guess I'll find some place more willing to take my money," Evans said, staggering angrily out of the bar.

"That guy is a piece of work," Curtis said, "Thanks for the assist."

"Did you get whatever it is you needed?" Mac asked.

"More than enough," Curtis said.

"Mac, could you be sure to give me a list of people here," Diane said, "I may need to call them as witnesses in a wrongful termination lawsuit I'm filing on behalf of a client."

"I'll have it to you by tomorrow," Mac said, looking around the bar, "Kellie's not even here and she still manages to turn my workplace into a circus."

"I'll do you one better, Ms. Miller," Curtis said, pulling his phone out from under the napkin and hitting a few buttons, "Check your phone."

"If that is a recording of your conversation with Mr. Walsh," Diane said, "I will tell Kellie to give you a bonus."

Jason and Drew had made their way to the bar by this time.

"I take it you heard all that," Curtis said.

"Hard not to," Drew said.

"We heard it," Jason said, "Can you use that Diane?"

"I'll be filing the lawsuit tomorrow morning," Diane said, "If you don't mind I'll be finishing my evening out with Max.

"Enjoy," Jason said.

"I'll be in touch," Diane said.

"So did you two see the amount of cash Mr. Walsh was showing off," Curtis asked.

"Yeah," Jason said.

"He mentioned it wasn't all casino winnings," Mac said, "Said it was an advance on a promotion for job currently filled by Alcazar. I'm wondering if he's skimming cash from somewhere."

"Like say the foundation," Curtis said.

"Kellie's doing her best to look into the foundations finances given she no longer works there or has anybody working there that can look," Jason said, "If we find something, we'll be in touch with the PCPD."

They were interrupted by a patron entering the the bar, yelling "A man's been stabbed. He's lying outside the bar."


	56. Chapter 56

**Several Hours Later**

After being questioned by the police in regards to the stabbing, Jason made it home to find Kellie had fallen asleep, waiting up for him, in the chair in their bedroom. As he knelt down next to Kellie, he smiled noticing that at four months pregnant, his shirts that she wore to bed didn't easily conceal the fact she was showing.

Kellie stirred as Jason picked her up and mover her to the bed.

"Hey, you're home," Kellie said.

"I thought I told you not to wait up for me," Jason said, getting in bed with Kellie.

"I couldn't sleep," Kellie said, "All you told me was you and Drew were held up because someone got stabbed at the Floating Rib. What happened?"

"Did you know Curtis would be there trying to get information from the rescue coordinator?" Jason asked.

"No," Kellie said, "I know Curtis was working on that but I didn't know when he planned to meet him."

"Curtis was waiting for him at the bar," Jason said, "Evan had already had a few drinks and was flashing a lot of cash. He was bragging about getting a promotion and how easy it would be to get Lorenzo out of the foundation to get it because he'd already done it to you."

"So he admitted to lying about me threatening him," Kellie said.

"He did," Jason said, wrapping his arms around Kellie.

"Anything else?" Kellie asked curling up against Jason.

"He also said that the Board fired you for getting pregnant," Jason said.

"How much did he have to drink?" Kellie asked, "He must have been pretty wasted. But that will make Diane happy, especially if there were witnesses to hear him say that."

"There were plenty of them," Jason said, "Curtis also recorded the conversation."

Kellie traced Jason's jawline with her finger, "What's bothering you?"

"It's not important," Jason said.

"What else did Evan say?" Kellie asked, "That got under your skin?"

"Nothing I want to repeat," Jason said, "The way he talked about you, he used terms that made me angry and Drew had to talk me out of punching the daylights of out of him."

"Remind me to thank Drew for keeping my baby daddy out of jail," Kellie said.

"Well it turns out someone else was gunning for Evans," Jason said, holding Kellie tighter, "He was the one who was stabbed."

"They wanted to shut him up," Kellie said, "Did they?"

"He was stabbed in the heart and bled out before 911 was even called," Jason said, "They didn't take his wallet or cash."

"Any suspects?" Kellie asked.

"Not yet," Jason said, "and no leads when I left."

"Considering that Evans admitted to a room full of witnesses he lied to get me fired and my private investigator was in the vicinity and is the police commissioners husband," Kellie said, "I assume I will be hearing from the PCPD tomorrow."

"Diane is already on it," Jason said, "She and Max were at the Floating Rib as well. Diane will contact you if the PCPD requests you to come in. Diane is going to try to run interference until she's here from the forensic accountant."

"Maybe the police will turn something up to connect Shiloh and Garrett in all of this," Kellie said.

"We can hope," Jason said, "So I've been wondering, what is your plan if you're able to prove the fraud."

"Take it to the board," Kellie said, "If the cops haven't already. After that it's out of my hands."

"Is there any one on the board you can give a heads up to?" Jason asked, "That you would trust."

"No," Kellie said, "That's the sad truth. No one gave me a heads up or a benefit of the doubt before the vote. None of them stood up for me. They either voted against me or stayed silent. So I don't know what happens once everything's out in the open, Jason."

"You don't know who to trust outside of Lorenzo and Charles," Jason said.

"Even if everything gets cleaned up and the Board offers me my job back, I don't know if I want it back," Kellie said, "I started the foundation because I wanted to help foster kids and that expanded to victims of abuse and trafficking. I put so much into it knowing one day I might have to step away. But this is not how I imagined it would go down with fraud and people inside the foundation covering up the things we try to fight against."

"It's all kinds of wrong," Jason said, "I wish I had answers for you. Whether you go back to work for the foundation or not is entirely up to you. But I do know regardless of what you decide, you'll make sure the foundation runs like it's supposed to."

"I know," Kellie said, "It's just…it's a little…maybe more than a little that people I work on hard building up the foundation with completely bailed on me at the end of the day. I guess I thought I'd proven myself that their trust would withstand some of the backlash that comes with that part of my reputation that's well shady."

"That's their loss. I happen to like your reputation," Jason said, whispering in Kellie's ear.

"Which reputation is that?" Kellie asked, yawning and curling up tighter against Jason.

"Loyal, kick-ass, passionate," Jason said, "Kind, Fiesty, has my back in a fight, reminds me how to have fun…keeps me on my toes "

"I'm pretty sure the keeping you on your toes part you might not always like," Kellie replied, half a sleep.

"Sometimes that's the best part," Jason said, softly, kissing Kellie's forehead as sleep completely claimed her.

**Dawn of Day**

Shiloh received a phone call from Garrett.

"You're welcome," Garrett said when Shiloh answered.

"For what?" Shiloh asked.

"Tying up a loose end," Garrett said, "crippling the Crossing Into Dawn Foundation Operations in the process. Evan talked too much."

"What are you talking about?" Shiloh asked.

"Someone stabbed Evan Walsh outside the Floating Rib," Garrett said, "Who's dumb idea was it to have that idiot lie to get Kellie Corinthos fired? The guy can't hold his liquor or his money or his mouth."

"Evan was stabbed," Shiloh said, "That's horrible. He was such a valued member of our Dawn of Day community."

"Yes, well, he's furthering the cause in a new way," Garrett said, "Speaking of which I can't exactly get supply lines going from here. So I suggest you work faster on getting me released."

"Remember these things take time," Shiloh said, "And we don't want anyone to get suspicious."

"Remember the longer I'm in here the less money we make," Garrett said, "and remember there's still a lot I can do from prison in the meantime. Things that might make you think twice about greasing the wheels faster to get me out of here."

**The next morning**

Kellie was getting the kids ready for school when Chase showed up at the house. Knowing Diane had arranged a time for Kellie to go to the station, Johnny notified Jason.

"I thought Diane had arranged a time for Kellie to go to the station," Jason said to Chase at the door.

"The Commissioner asked me to provide an escort," Chase said.

"Detective Chase," Diane said, "You wouldn't be trying to question my client without legal counsel."

"As I was explaining to Mr. Morgan here, I simply came to escort his wife to the station," Chase said.

"Nice try," Diane said, "But I need to speak to my client. She and I will head to the station at the time we arranged and not a minute before. So any attempts to talk to her with out me by providing her with an escort are not necessary. Are we clear, Detective?

"I will see Kellie at the station," Chase said. He was about to say something else when Kellie herded the kids downstairs, carrying coats and backbacks.

"Are you Uncle Dante's partner?" Jamie asked as he put his jacket on.

"I was," Chase replied baffled.

"So you're a cop," Jamie said, "And you could show me stuff about how to keep people safe? I was going to ask Uncle Dante but he left again so…."

"Well, that depends," Chase replied, "Tell me what skills do you already have for protecting people."

"Karate," Jamie said, "And kickboxing. I taught myself how escape if someone ties my hands up."

"And I know how to call 911," Alyssa said as Jared rolled his eyes, "And kick people and runaway from bad people now."

"You guys might actually be better than me," Chase said, "I'm not sure what more I can teach you."

"Really?" Jamie asked.

"Scout's honor," Chase said.

"And with that, you all need to get to school," Kellie said, noticing the guard waiting at the door.

"Is Uncle Jason in trouble?" Jared asked, "Is that why the policeman and his lawyer are here?"

"No one's in trouble," Chase said, "I promised your Uncle I'd check up on you guys every once in awhile and that's what I'm doing."

Kellie, Jason, and Diane all looked at Chase skeptically.

"He did make me promise to keep an eye on his family," Chase said, "And that includes his sister, niece, nephews. I guess I should be going."

"You do that, Detective," Diane said, "My client will also be coming through one of private entrances to avoid the media circus."

Chase nodded and left, "I'll let the commissioner know."

After the kids headed off to school, Diane looked Kellie up and down.

"This won't work at all," Diane said.

"What won't work?" Kellie asked.

"The I'm trying to hide my pregnancy but failing look you've got going on," Diane said, "You're about to be questioned in a murder investigation for a murder that just took place after the victim confessed to lying to get you fired. A victim that you hired a private investigator to look into. Unfortunately, the forensic accountant isn't ready to bring his investigation of the fraud at the foundation to the police yet. Your ability to cooperate with the cops is compromised at the moment. While I filed the wrongful termination lawsuit against the foundation and that may help soften that, we need to use every advantage we have at the moment, including making sure that your wardrobe flaunts your cute little baby bump."

Kellie opened her mouth to protest.

"This what you're paying me for," Diane said, "To present you in the best possible light. Right now that light includes not only professional business women, and charitable community member, but mother as well. More specifically, mother to be."

Kellie wanted to argue with Diane, but instead looked at Jason. Jason walked over to Kellie.

"She's right this is what we pay her for," Jason said, "As much as you might not want to hear that. We both know you have to go with exercising the right to remain silent given the situation at the moment. We already know D.A. Dawson holds a grudge against Sonny and me. She might think twice about railroading you if she see's you as a mom and not Sonny's daughter."

"Fine," Kellie said, reluctantly.

"Let's go," Diane said, "Let's see what I have to work with in your wardrobe.

Awhile later, Kellie and Diane came down downstairs. Kellie was dressed in a sweater dress, leggings, and knee high boots.

"Are you ready to go?" Jason asked.

Kellie nodded, "As ready as I can be."

Jason opened the door for Kellie and Diane and followed them out.

"Just where do you think you're going, Jason?" Diane asked.

"To the station with my wife," Jason said.

"This might go better if…"Diane started to say.

"We try to pretend that Jason's not my husband," Kellie said, "The cops certainly won't forget. The D.A. certainly won't. I'm so over trying to bend over backwards trying to make that fact not matter when it shouldn't and people insist on taking issue with Jason being my husband."

Kellie grabbed Jason's hand and looked at him, "I want you at the station with me. I don't want to pretend to not want you there because it's supposedly the better move. You're my husband, the world damn well better get used to it."


	57. Chapter 57

Kellie and Jason followed Diane into the Police Station, escorted by Chase through a side entrance. Calvin and Arnold were talking with Margeaux when they walked in.

"Where's your Uncle's laptop, you little thief and murderer?" Arnold asked, then he turned to the D.A., "I hope you're arresting her. Poor Evan did nothing did deserve what she did to him."

Jason pulled Kellie closer to him as Diane stepped between them and Margeaux, Calvin, and Arnold.

"You'll need to return the laptop," Calvin said, "Your uncle had no right to turn the laptop over to you now that you no longer work for the foundation."

"I'd like to know why you think I even have Lorenzo's laptop," Kellie asked.

"What happened to you, Kellie?" Arnold asked, ignoring Kellie's question, "You seem bound and determined to destroy the Foundation. Do you really want revenge on us that much, that you'd resort to mob theatrics? Suing us for wrongful termination, withholding funding, and now killing Evan."

"I'm not the one destroying the foundation," Kellie said.

"I told the board when you married Morgan," Arnold said, "No good would come of this and I was right. Now about the laptop if you'll tell us where it is, we'll go retrieve it."

"Nobody will be retrieving anything," Diane said, "I have signed documents in which Lorenzo Alcazar authorized his niece to take custody of the laptop. Several witnesses can attest that fact."

"He had no right," Calvin said, stepping closer to Kellie. Jason put himself between Kellie and Calvin.

"So you're going to hide behind your father's lapdog?" Calvin replied.

"D.A. Dawson," Diane said, "I'm more than happy to discuss the harassment charges my client could press. These two shouldn't even be talking to my client without their attorney present now that they're aware a lawsuit been filed."

"She's right," Margeaux said, "I will get to the bottom of this and see about getting your laptop back."

"We'll be in touch," Arnold said, nudging Calvin to leave with him.

"You won't be getting to the bottom of anything, Miss Dawson," Diane said, "You have a well known grudge against Kellie's father. If I get so much as a hint you have inserted yourself into any interrogations with my client or any aspect of this case, you won't even have time to blink when the Bar Association revokes your license."

"That won't be necessary," Margeaux said, "We will expect you to produce the document that Lorenzo authorized Kellie to take the laptop."

Diane simply handed Margeaux a copy of the document.

"Of course," Margeaux said, "I hope you can live with yourself Mrs. Morgan. Withholding funding from the very people you claim to help…that's just."

"Miss Dawson," Diane said.

"Knows nothing about me or Calvin or Arnold or anything related to the foundation," Kellie said, "I suggest you let the police do their jobs and you prosecute the cases they bring to you."

"I will prosecute the cases my cops bring to me including the murder of Evan Walsh," Margeaux said, "I bet you were sloppy. That's not your usual M.O."

"I'd keep that in mind, not my M.O." Kellie replied.

"Kellie," Diane said, "Let me do the talking."

"It looks like the Commissioner is ready," Chase said, seeing Jordan come out, "If you'll follow me this way."

Kellie and Diane followed Jordan into the room. Chase stopped Jason.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan, but we need to question your wife separately," Chase said, "You were at the scene of a homicide you and your wife are both persons of interest in."

"It's okay, Jason," Kellie said, turning around to look at Jason, "I know how this works."

Kellie kissed him before letting him go to wait in the main hub of the station.

Jason was sitting on the bench to wait when Charles showed up.

"What are you doing here?" Jason asked as Charles sat next to him.

"Police want to question me regarding a stabbing that happened last night," Charles asked, "Something to do with the foundation."

"They're questioning Kellie now," Jason said, "Evan Walsh was killed last night outside the Floating Rib right after admitting to a private investigator he lied to help get Kellie fired from the foundation and that the Board was also taking the pregnancy into consideration when they fired her."

"It doesn't look good," Charles said, "But if the admission came right before he was stabbed."

"He admitted it and left the bar," Jason said, "A few minutes later, someone came in yelling he'd been stabbed."

"Were you at the bar when…" Charles asked.

"Drew and I went to have couple beers and play pool," Jason said, "The commissioner's husband and Mac Scorpio can attest that I was inside the bar when it happened."

"Is Kellie in there by herself?" Charles asked.

"No, Diane's with her," Jason said, "Diane was already working on a few items for Kellie and was also at the floating rib last night too."

"I saw the lawsuit hit the news already," Charles said, "It's an interesting move."

"Let's just say there's a lot more going on at the foundation than anyone realizes yet," Jason said, "Unfortunately, we can't bring it to the police yet especially since certain investigations have been deemed off limits."

"Bringing in Diane's a smart move," Charles said, "This is her speciality."

"Kellie would have asked you," Jason said, "But…"

"But considering that I was also fired from the Foundation," Charles said, "Whatever she's hired Diane for means they can't claim I have a conflict of interest for representing her in any legal matters. I would have suggested Diane. I'm surprised you're not in there with her."

"The police said they had to question her separately," Jason said, "Actually Diane wasn't even sure I should come to the station at all."

"She does have a point," Charles said, "But…"

"Kellie told Diane she wanted me here," Jason said, "And that she was done with all the games the board and everyone else has put her through by insisting our relationship not be acknowledged and still holding it against her."

"You know that it was bound to happen sooner or later," Charles said, "The board taking issue with her past regardless of whether she married you or not. We both knew that."

"She mentioned that," Jason said, "But she didn't expect the board to just totally turn against her."

"It's uglier than I would have ever thought," Charles said, "I'm guessing we don't know the half of it yet."

"No," Jason said, looking back at the interrogation room Kellie was in.

"I know you want to be in there with her right now," Charles said, "But we both know she can hold her own. The important thing is she asked you to be here rather than telling you not to put your schedule on hold for her. That might be the best thing to come out of today for both of you."

**The interrogation room**

"I assume you know why we asked you to come in," Jordan said.

"Please tell us, Commissioner," Diane said.

"An employee from your foundation was stabbed and killed," Jordan said, "After admitting in front of witnesses he lied to get you fired and said a number of other unflattering comments about you."

"And what does this have to do with my client?" Diane asked.

"She was fired from the foundation because of him," Chase said, "It could be motive for the stabbing. Where were you last night?"

"At home with my children and guards," Kellie said.

"Which they can all confirm," Diane said.

"But your husband was there," Jordan said.

"Right where all the other witnesses could see him," Diane said, "Come on, Commissioner, I think we both know Kellie isn't a suspect for this crime and neither is Jason."

"I want to know what the hell is going on," Jordan said, "The foundation fired you, one person is dead, and then I've got Arnold and Calvin demanding I arrest you for stealing a laptop."

"The laptop in question was entrusted to her care by Lorenzo Alcazar," Diane said, "And I have the documentation to prove it."

"Which the foundation can claim he didn't have the right to do," Chase replied, "Since Kellie no longer works for them."

"Where is the laptop?" Jordan asked.

"We are currently not at liberty to discuss that," Diane said, "Until the foundation can get a judge to say I have to divulge that detail, the subject is off the table."

"And why is that?" Jordan asked, "Actually no, the better question is why is Kellie not speaking for herself. I expect her husband to refuse to talk. But Kellie is known for not waiting for lawyers and speaking freely with law enforcement. So what changed?"

"Are you charging my client with anything?" Diane asked, "Because if not then you need to let her go. As far as I can tell she's answered all your questions."

"Why were you having Evan Walsh investigated?" Chase asked.

"To attempt to get to the bottom of why my client was unceremoniously fired from the foundation she started," Diane said, "If you'll excuse me I think we're done here."

"Come on, Kellie," Chase said, "This isn't you, hiding behind a lawyer. I know you have something you want to say."

"Not this time," Kellie said as Diane looked out the interrogation room window.

"Excuse me a moment," Diane said, moving to the door and opening it.

"by all means," Chase said.

"Tucker, Ashley," Diane said, waving a professionally dressed man and woman into the room. The woman carried a laptop, encased in a plastic bag.

"Hold on a moment," Jordan said, "You can't just."

"Do you want some of your questions answered or not?" Diane asked, "My associates here may be able to shed some light on some matters."

"And your associates are?" Jordan asked.

"Tucker Jackson and Ashley Carrington," Diane said, "They work for Jackson, Carrington, and Jones , an accounting firm who specializes."

"In forensic accounting," Jordan said, recognizing the name of the firm."

"That laptop," Chase said, "It wouldn't by chance be the one your uncle entrusted to you?"


	58. Chapter 58

"Hold on, Detective Chase," Diane said, "I need a moment to confer with my associates. Commissioner, could you and your detective give us a moment?"

"Be my guest," Jordan said, as she and Chase left the room.

Outside the room, Jason and Charles approached them.

"Who are those people that Diane asked to join you?" Jason asked.

"Forensic accountants," Jordan said, "However, I have no idea why they're here."

"But I would imagine you do," Chase said.

Jason didn't answer.

"Mr. Scott, would you care to enlighten us?" Chase asked.

"This is the first I've heard about forensic accountants," Charles said, "I'm as in the dark as you are."

Diane opened the the door to the room and called Jordan and Chase back in.

"I believe we've kept you waiting long enough," Diane said.

"You think," Jordan said.

"I'll let Ashley and Tucker explain their presence here," Diane said.

"Kellie Corinthos-Morgan contracted with us on behalf of Lorenzo Alcazar to review the financial records of Crossing Into Dawn," Tucker said.

"They had concerns about whether the money was being used properly," Ashley said, "given recent events. We accessed the records of Crossing Into Dawn using Lorenzo Alcazar's laptop which we have here."

"Did you find anything?" Jordan asked.

"Payments from the foundation to Evan Walsh, Calvin & Alicia Darrington, Arnold Halvers, and multiple false vendors and ghost employees," Tucker said, holding out a thumb drive, "This contains our preliminary report and relevant files."

"We haven't completed our investigation," Ashley said, "However, given recent events, Ms. Miller contacted us requesting we turn over our initial results to the PCPD if we felt comfortable doing so at this time. What we're giving you today is what we are positive are misappropriations of foundations funds."

"We have also contacted the FBI due to the presence of interstate wire transfers that may be questionable as well," Tucker said, "We will be providing them with the same information and an image of the laptop's contents and Mr. Alcazar's passwords to the financial system. We will also be contacting NCIS.

"NCIS?" Chase asked.

"Calvin's sister, Alicia, works for Sec Nav which oversees NCIS," Ashley said, "It's more of a courtesy."

"Fantastic," Jordan muttered, "Thank you for the heads up."

"Why all the stall tactics?" Chase asked, "Why not just tell us your suspicions to start with instead of giving us the run around?"

"All my client and her uncle had were a hunch," Diane said, "She wanted to be absolutely sure the transactions were questionable before bringing that kind of charge forward. Until Tucker and Ashley felt they had enough information to bring forward, we didn't want to make accusations of this nature. We asked them to fast track what they could. But weren't sure how long it would take. Not to mention, my client had concerns of information being leaked or gossiped about alerting the suspected parties."

"My department is clean," Jordan said.

"When Kellie was kidnapped by Garrett Esoterra," Diana said, "Her captor obtained information on Kellie's medical prognosis from someone here in Port Charles. Information that was not made publicly available."

Jordan and Chase both looked frustrated.

"Do you have any further questions for my client?" Diane asked.

"I guess not," Jordan said, "But we may have questions later. We'll look through the information from the accountants and confer with the FBI. We'll also bring in Calvin and Arnold for questioning."

"We will also coordinate with private investigators Mrs. Corinthos employed," Ashley said, "To pass along relevant information to the PCPD and FBI."

"What kind of relevant information?" Jordan asked.

"There are several large payments to Shiloh Archer and Dawn of Day," Tucker said, "Calvin Darrington was Mr. Archer's college roommate. However, we are still investigating those payments."

"You're all free to go," Jordan said.

"If you have any more questions for Kellie," Diane said, as she and Kellie stood up to leave, "Please contact me first on this matter and we'll arrange a time."

"Noted," Jordan said, opening the door to the interrogation room, "If Tucker and Ashley wouldn't mind waiting we will take the laptop and whatever else they have for us."

Tucker and Ashley nodded their agreement.

"Thank you," Kellie said, "For making this a priority."

"You've done good work with the Foundation," Ashley said, "We're happy to help you make things right."

"Let's go," Diane said, heading towards the door.

"Commissioner," Kellie said, "I wish there had been an easier way to bring you in on what we just disclosed you to."

"Me too," Jordan said, "I'm frankly sorry I had to bring you in for questioning at all and that you're dealing with whatever this mess is."

"I know you're just doing your job," Kellie said.

"The important thing is getting to the truth," Chase said.

"And Detective Chase," Kellie said, "Thank you for setting my kids minds at ease this morning."

"I'm just sorry Dante's not here to fulfill Jamie's request," Chase replied.

"Yeah," Kellie said.

"For what it's worth," Chase said, "From what Michael and Dante have told me, you're doing a good job making sure your kids are equipped for what ever comes their way."

"You ready to go?," Jason asked, walking up to Kellie.

"More than ready," Kellie said, taking Jason's hand.

"Everything go okay in there?" Jason asked.

"Diane got the forensic accountants to move fast enough to be able to bring their initial results to the police, FBI, and NCIS," Kellie said.

"That's good news," Jason said.

"Can someone fill me in on what the forensic accountants are doing?" Charles asked.

"Arnold and Calvin have been helping themselves and a few others to the foundation's funds," Kellie said.

"No wonder Calvin was so adamant about getting the casino's usual payment," Charles said.

"Are you being questioned today?" Kellie asked.

"Yes," Charles said.

"I hope you didn't plan on representing yourself," Diane said.

"He's not," Kellie said, "I had already talked to Diane to represent both of of us in any matter related to our firing at the foundation or the fraud. I just didn't expect it to happen this soon."

"I know better than to argue with you," Charles said, "And thank you."

"We should get going," Jason said, "So we're not late for your check up."

"Right," Kellie said, "Charles if you need anything."

"You have left me with very capable counsel," Charles said, "The only thing you need to worry about right now is hearing the doctors tell you the newest addition to the family is healthy."

"Okay," Kellie said, trying not to smile.

"Now go," Charles said, "And leave all this to the attorneys and police."

**General Hospital**

Kellie and Jason were waiting for the doctor in the exam room. Kellie was sitting up on the exam table. Jason stood next to her as they talked.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "I just can't believe that Diane and the accountants pulled together enough to be able to get law enforcement involved investigating Calvin and Arnold for fraud already. It just feels like a huge win today and there's this huge weight off my shoulder. I know we haven't proved everything we need to yet, but…"

"It helps knowing that it's not just you that's looking for those connections anymore," Jason said.

"More than I would have thought possible," Kellie said as Liz peeked her head in.

"Dr. Navarro is finishing up with another patient," Liz said, "It'll be a few more minutes."

"That's fine," Kellie said, "Thank you for the heads up."

"You're welcome," Liz said, "Are you still planning on picking Jake up after school?"

Jason nodded, "And Danny to play catch at the park."

"He's looking forward to it," Liz said.

"Me too," Jason said as Liz left.

Jason looked at Kellie as she took a look around the room.

"Is she moving?" Jason asked, seeing Kellie's arms were wrapped around her belly.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "Some….. I love feeling her move and how…."

"How what?" Jason asked.

"It's going to sound ridiculous," Kellie replied.

"No it won't," Jason said.

"This feels normal," Kellie said, "Like good normal having a regular prenatal exam. I don't even know how to explain that."

"You don't have to," Jason said, brushing Kellie's hair out of her face, "Just enjoy it."

They were interrupted by Dr. Navarro entering the room.

Dr. Navarro asked a few routine questions before making a suggestion, "So I normally wouldn't do another ultrasound until your 20 week appointment. However, I'd like to do an ultrasound today it that's alright. It's just a precaution considering how long your severe morning sickness went untreated and then you were kidnapped and roughed up. I don't think we'll find anything based on your initial appointment, but…"

"It's better to be cautious," Jason said.

"If you think we should do an ultrasound, we'll do one," Kellie said.

"If you want to lay back on the exam table," Dr. Navarro said, "We'll get started."

Kellie took a deep breathe as Jason whispered in her ear, "Everything's going to be fine. Strong like her mom."

"And her dad," Kellie replied, before laying back on the table and adjusting her clothing so her belly was exposed. Jason held her hand as Kellie closed her eyes and told herself to breathe. She felt the cold gel as Dr. Navarro prepped her for the ultrasound.

The sound of the baby's heartbeat caused Kellie to open her eyes and look at the image of their baby on the screen.

Dr. Navarro pointed out the baby's features, "Everything looks like it should."

"Good," Kellie said.

"There is one other thing," Dr. Navarro said, "Have the two of you decided if you want to find the sex of the baby? Your baby is positioned just right and I could actually tell you today if you're having a boy or girl, if you'd like. Or you could wait and find out later if you need time to talk about it."

"Isn't kind of early for that?" Kellie asked, "I remember finding out with the boys later and Alyssa didn't exactly cooperate until I was seven or eight months with her."

"Finding out later is normally more accurate," Dr. Navarro said, "But 16 weeks, which you're at, is the earliest I could tell you with reasonable confidence. With the baby's positioning today, I'm more sure about telling you the gender, but only if that's something you want to know."

"What do you want to do, Kellie?" Jason asked, "Do you want to find out if we're having a boy or a girl?"

"I'd like to," Kellie said, "But only it you're on board with that."

"I'd like to find out," Jason said, "Especially since you've been referring to the baby as girl. I want to find out if you're right."

"We want to know, Dr. Navarro," Kellie said.

"Well, then let me be the first to introduce you to your baby girl," Dr. Navarro said.


	59. Chapter 59

"We're really having a girl," Kellie replied.

"Looks like you were right, Mom," Dr. Navarro said.

"She's beautiful," Kellie said, "Not that a boy wouldn't have been fine…"

"You were hoping for a girl," Jason said.

"Or hoping to even up the numbers between the number of boys that run through our house compared to girls," Kellie said, "I know Alyssa isn't keen on the idea of a sister, but I like the idea of her having one."

"She'll come around," Jason said.

"Could we get pictures?" Kellie asked.

"Of course," Dr. Navarro said, handing Kellie a towel to wipe the gel off.

While Kellie and Jason were waiting for the sonogram pictures, Jason still hadn't said much.

"What are you thinking about having a girl?" Kellie asked, "You've hardly said a word."

"I'm happy as long are you're both healthy and happy," Jason said, "And you definitely seem happy right now."

Kellie blushed, "I don't know what it is, it feels like something's finally clicking and."

"I can tell," Jason said, smiling and wrapping his arms around Kellie, "So I have to ask do you have plans for how you want tell people the baby's a girl like one of those blue pink parties."

"There is no plan other than not one of those parties," Kellie said, "We can just tell people if it comes up or whatever."

"I was thinking we could see if my Mom was around," Jason said, "And we could tell her"

"I think it's a great idea," Kellie said before kissing Jason, "Maybe we could go the MetroCourt for lunch before the kids get out of school. I could tell Olivia. Then maybe Carly. That might make telling her that I'm letting Molly plan the baby shower easier."

"Did Carly ask you about the baby shower?" Jason asked.

"I got a text yesterday," Kellie said, "along with another text about going shopping for clothes. I might have conveniently ignored them while there were a lot of other things going on."

"That explains the text I got from Carly asking me to call her," Jason replied, "She was adamant it was an emergency and about you. But Johnny would have contacted me if you really were in an emergency. Carlys text came while Drew and I were at the Floating Rib last night. I told her it would have to wait until today."

"So you're telling me we're both in trouble with Carly?" Kellie said.

"I guess when you put it that way," Jason said as Liz came back in the room.

"How'd everything go?" Liz asked, handing Kellie an envelope, "Dr. Navarro asked me to give these to you."

"Great," Kellie said, opening the envelope and pulling out one of the sonogram pictures.

"You had a sonogram?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, we're having a girl," Kellie said, "And I just blurted that out. Oops."

"I'm happy for both of you," Liz said, "And as far as anyone else is concerned, I have no idea if the baby's a boy or girl. But I'm sure Jake will be thrilled."

"Thank you," Jason said.

"You might not thank me yet," Elizabeth said, "I just heard from Jake and he's apparently invited Jared and Jamie to join you and Danny at the park after school. I thought you'd want to know especially if Danny's still in a place where he might not be thrilled with that."

"We're making progress," Jason said, "But…."

"That might be a bit much," Kellie said, "I'll go pick up the boys and Alyssa. Tell them we're having a campout in the backyard. It is Friday, I can set the tent up for them and get them some smores and they'll be happy."

"The guards just texted," Jason said, looking at his phone, "I'll tell them to tell Jamie and Jared no because you have a surprise for them."

"Thank you for the heads up, Elizabeth," Kellie said.

"I know it hasn't been easy," Elizabeth replied.

"Have you seen my mom around?" Jason asked.

"She was in her office last I saw," Liz said.

**Chief of Staff's Office**

"Come on in," Monica said when Jason knocked on the door.

"Hey," Jason said, after opening the door. Kellie followed him into the office.

"Hey you two," Monica said, "What brings you here?"

"Well, Kellie and the baby had a check up today," Jason said, "We found out the baby's a girl."

"That is wonderful news," Monica said, hugging Jason, "I can't tell you how much it means to be one of the first to hear that news."

"We have copies of the sonogram if you want to see it," Kellie said as Monica stepped back from Jason.

"Of course I want to see a picture of my grandchild," Monica said, turning to embrace Kellie, "After everything the two of you went through in the last month, it's about time you had some happy news."

While Kellie and Jason showed Monica the sonogram, Kellie's phone rang.

"It's Charles," Kellie said when she checked the phone, "I'm going to take this outside."

Kellie walked out the door, leaving Jason and Monica to talk.

"I know Charles had to go the station for questioning," Monica said, "Something to with that man that was stabbed while you and Drew were at the floating rib. Is everything okay?"

"It will be," Jason said, "Kellie was also brought in for questioning this morning."

"Drew mentioned that the man that was stabbed worked for the Foundation," Monica said, "And lied to get Kellie fired."

"That's only part of it," Jason said, "Long story short, Diane was able to get the forensic accountants Kellie hired to look at the foundation's financial activities to get enough of the initial results together to hand over to law enforcement."

"Oh my god," Monica said, "Now I wish I'd insisted Charles not go by himself…"

"Diane was with him," Jason said, "Kellie knew that there might be need for her and Charles to need legal counsel once her suspicions of fraud became public. She'd already arranged with Diane to represent Charles."

"Thank goodness," Monica said, "He's a good attorney, but I feel better knowing someone's looking out for him."

"You and Charles have gotten to be close friends haven't you," Jason said.

"I've enjoyed his company," Monica said, "And we have a lot in common, including having lost people dear to us. However if it's more than that, only time will tell."

"I'm glad for both of you," Jason said, "Whatever happens. You both deserve to be happy."

"Speaking of happy," Monica said, "Kellie is absolutely glowing. Is it safe to say she's finally adjusting to the idea of having another baby? That did come as quite the shock."

"I think so," Jason said, "That's probably been some of the worst part of this, watching her struggle with the whole situation. Everything from relief at being pregnant because it meant she didn't have cancer to being angry at Helena Cassadine. Then feeling guilty for not feeling connected to the baby."

"The two of you certainly have been on a roller coaster," Monica said, "If Helena Cassadine and the doctors she paid off were still alive or able to be found, I'd be tempted to wring their necks for what they did. When I think of what could have happened to Kellie and your child…"

Monica was interrupted by Kellie opening the door and coming back in.

"Is everything alright with Charles?" Monica asked.

"He's fine," Kellie said, "Just a few questions. The PCPD might be contacting you since you were having dinner with Charles last night when he stabbing occurred."

"That's no problem," Monica said, "So is the gender of baby a secret or…"

"Charles knows," Kellie replied, "If that's what you're asking. Because I can't seem to not tell people the baby's a girl."

"So you're saying it won't be a secret for long," Jason said, smiling.

"I hope you didn't mind," Kellie said, as Jason shook his head. "I know we hadn't talked about telling any side from Monica, Olivia, and Carly. Oh and Jason, do you know if my Dad could meet us at the MetroCourt. Once we tell Carly, she'll tell him instead of waiting for us to tell him."

"Probably," Jason said, "If not, I'm pretty sure he's at the coffee warehouse. We could stop by before we go to the MetroCourt

"Please tell me you're telling Olivia by the time I get home," Monica said, "I'm not sure how long I'll be able to pretend I don't know."

"We're headed to the MetroCourt next," Kellie said, "So you and Olivia can talk about it all you want tonight."

**The MetroCourt**

Sonny walked into the MetroCourt and found Carly and Olivia near the bar.

"Have you seen Kellie and Jason?" Sonny asked, "They asked me to meet them here."

"We're actually waiting for them," Carly said.

"Kellie texted and said she and Jason wanted to talk to us," Olivia said.

"Did they give any indication as to what it's about?" Sonny asked.

"No," Carly said as Kellie and Jason walked in, "You went shopping with out me?"

"Carly, I didn't go shopping," Kellie said, "This was in my closet."

"You look gorgeous," Olivia said, "In fact, I'd say motherhood looks good on you."

"Is everything okay?" Sonny asked, "The baby's okay? The kids?"

"Everything's fine," Kellie said.

"We just came from GH," Jason said, "Kellie and the baby got a clean bill of health."

"And…" Kellie started to say.

"I really hope you have sonogram pictures," Carly said, before Jason and Kellie could say any more.

"Carly, let them speak," Olivia said, seeing Kellie could hardly contain herself.

"We're having a girl," Kellie said, causing Carly and Olivia to squeal. Sonny and Jason stepped back as Carly and Olivia surrounded Kellie. The next thing they knew, Olivia and Carly had moved with Kellie to a table leaving Sonny and Jason at the bar.

"You should have told me to bring cigars," Sonny said, hugging Jason, "Or something.."

"We didn't want to make a big deal about it," Jason said.

"You mean you don't want one of those gender reveal parties," Sonny asked.

"No," Jason said.

"I think this is the happiest I've seen Kellie in awhile," Sonny said, "You too come to think of it. A daughter…. That's going to change your world. They're special."

"We'll have two little girls running around," Jason said.

"With dolls and tea parties and princess costumes," Sonny said, "Or trying to tag along after their older brothers."

"Yeah," Jason said, looking back at Kellie.

"What is it?" Sonny asked.

"I missed out on so much of Jake and Danny's childhood," Jason said, "I hope I do better this time. Not just for our daughter, but for Jake and Danny too."

"You already are," Sonny said.

"I'm trying," Jason said, "But I still feel like I have a long way to go."

"I know the feeling," Sonny said.

Over at the table, eventually Carly asked about the baby shower.

"So now that we know the baby's a girl," Carly said, "that makes decorating and planning your baby shower a lot easier. By the way, I'm still not happy you ignored my text."

"There was a lot going on yesterday," Kellie said, "and this morning. The foundation's rescue coordinator admitted to lying to get me fired, was stabbed and killed, and I got brought into the station for questioning and now the PCPD and FBI are investigating possible fraud at the foundation."

"You were at the police station," Olivia said, "That's the last thing you need.

"Diane's handling it," Kellie said, "Anyway, Carly about the baby shower, Molly's planning the shower. She wanted the distraction from everything going on with Kristina."

"But she's got school and work," Carly said, "I really…."

"You've got a lot going on, Carly," Kellie said, "When Molly asked, I have to admit I liked her ideas. And this thing with Kristina has really got her bummed, I couldn't say no. I wasn't even planning on having a shower."

"I think that's very thoughtful of you to let Molly plan the shower," Olivia said.

"Alright, but I still want to know what Molly's ideas are?" Carly replied.

"You'll just have to wait and see like everyone else," Kellie said.


	60. Chapter 60

Eventually, Carly ended up talking to Jason and Sonny, leaving Kellie and Olivia to talk.

"So do you have any idea what you want to do after the baby's born?" Olivia asked.

"No clue," Kellie said, "On one hand it would be nice to just focus the new baby and the kids for awhile. But I'm afraid I'd get bored not working to some degree. I was starting the foundation when Jamie and Jared were born and expanding it when Alyssa was born."

"You took a lot of time off when Tyler was sick and afterwards," Olivia said, "I don't think you were bored just taking care of the kids. I know you still worked some, but Lorenzo and Charles handled a lot of your workload."

"I guess you're right," Kellie said, "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way. Right now with the way things are at the foundation, I don't even know what I'd do for work"

"The foundation sounds like it's a bit of mess right now," Olivia replied, "Are you sure you want to take that on?"

"I want to fix it," Kellie said, "So foundation does what I always wanted it to do. I just don't know if I can go back to work for the people that didn't even ask my side of the story. Not all of them will be implicated and some of them probably honestly thought they were doing the right thing."

"I think you're at a crossroads," Olivia said, "And you have to figure out what you want now and let go of whatever expectations you have about how you thought things would turn out with the foundation."

"It's not like I didn't know that I might not always work for the foundation," Kellie said, "I've always known my connections to Dad and Uncle Lo could be used against me to get me out or it might be problem."

"You thought it would be a decision you made with the people at the foundation," Olivia said, "Not them showing you the door."

"Yeah," Kellie said, "I guess that's the hardest part. I thought I had at least enough of their respect to make it a conversation and not a mutiny. They didn't come to me with their concerns. Even if I went back to work for the foundation, I'd always wonder what if they're not telling me something's not working. Not to mention they pushed back on a lot of decisions Lorenzo and I wanted to make. Decisions that might have prevented this whole mess if they'd backed us up."

"The foundation is a good thing," Olivia said, "I don't think anyone can deny that. I have absolute faith you'll get the foundation sorted out and cleaned up. But when it comes to what happens beyond that, I think you need to consider what's important to you and what you might be sacrificing. Can you honestly tell me you'd regret staying home with the kids for awhile and spending time with them?"

"No," Kellie said.

"Can you say the same if you decided to go back to work right away?" Olivia asked.

Kellie shook her head.

"I think that right there can tell you a lot," Olivia said, "But that's for you to figure out. It doesn't mean you couldn't go back to work eventually when the time is right. Knowing you, you'll find your way into something. I'd love to tell you that working for the foundation would be worth what you might sacrifice, especially because you founded it. The problem is honey, there are things about your life we know aren't going to change, the risks associated with Sonny and Jason's business are still the there as well as the risk from Tyler being Helena's grandson and your own past. Even if Tyler was still alive you'd be dealing with all those risks."

"The foundation mess might still have happened," Kellie said, "They would have tried to find another reason to fire me besides my relationship with Jason."

"That's probably true, But I guess what I'm trying to get at," Olivia said, "Is to be careful about going back to work for foundation if you think the people aren't to support you when your life gets rough. I just don't want you to rely on that and get hurt again. Especially when you have a lot of people behind you even when some of the ugly risks you have to deal with happen. People that aren't going to cut and run on you when things get rough."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Kellie said, "Thanks, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't mean to."

"And that is not the first time you've called me Mom before," Olivia said, "I've told you I have no problems with you calling me Mom. In fact nothing would make me happier than for you to call me Mom and not feel like you need to apologize for it. As far as I'm concerned as you're every bit as much my child as Dante and Leo are. Unless I'm totally off base here, I'm pretty you think of me as your mom. Or am I wrong about that?"

"You're not wrong," Kellie said, "I love that you treat me like a daughter. I just don't want to take advantage of that."

"You're not taking advantage of me all," Olivia said, "If anything, I hit the jackpot with a beautiful daughter that I didn't have to go through all the child birth for. Though I'd would have done it if was the difference having you and not having you as a daughter."

Olivia grabbed Kellie's hand, "So what do you say? I think it's about time you stopped worrying about apologizing every time you end up calling me Mom? If you want to call me Mom, just go with it. "

"I'd like to try," Kellie said, "It might take some getting used to. I can't guarantee I might not screw it up and apologize or,,,"

"Nobody's perfect," Olivia said, "If you need to think about it that's okay. I just want you to know that options always there for you."

"I don't need to think about anymore... Mom," Kellie said.

**Elementary School **

Kellie went to the elementary school to pick up Jamie, Jared, and Alyssa. Jason had gone to pick up Danny from the middle school before picking up Jake.

Alyssa was the first one out of school.

"When did you get fat, Mommy?" Alyssa asked as she got in the car.

"Mom's not fat, she's pregnant," Jared said as he and Jamie came running out with Jake.

"That's the baby sticking out," Jamie said.

"Are you taking us to the park to meet Dad?" Jake asked.

"Your Dad is on his way to pick you up," Kellie said, "He went to pick up Danny first."

"Then we're meeting them at the park," Jamie said.

"Jared, Jamie, get in the car," Kellie said, nodded to the guard to make sure they did.

Kellie knelt next to Jake, "I think it is really sweet of you to invite Jamie and Jared to join you at the park today with your Dad and brother. I actually have surprise planned for them."

"Couldn't you do the surprise another day?" Jake asked, "It's a really nice day out and…"

"And they'll get to go outside," Kellie said, "But right now this time for you and your brother to spend with your Dad. Just the three of you."

"If Danny even shows up," Jake said.

"Even if for some reason it's just you and your Dad," Kellie said, "It's still good for you to spend time with your Dad, just the two of you. It's important for you and your Dad to have that time together."

"Hey buddy," Jason said, approaching them, "You ready to go?"

"I guess," Jake said, "Are you sure Jamie and Jared can't come?"

"Not this time," Kellie said, "But how about we set up another day for you and Jamie and Jared to get together?"

"Promise?" Jake asked.

"Promise," Kellie said as she heard the sound of her kids scuffling in the car, "We'll talk to your mom about it."

"Okay," Jake said, "I guess I"m ready. Is Danny still coming?"

"He's in the car," Jason said.

"I'll see you both later," Kellie said, standing up, "And you have fun."

"Let's go buddy," Jason said.

"Bye Kellie," Jake said, before he and Jason left, "Bye baby sibling."

Once Kellie got in the car, the kids started whining.

"Why can't we go to the park?" Jamie asked.

"Jake invited us," Jared said.

"We've been over this," Kellie said, "Sometimes we need to let Jake and Danny have time alone with their dad. I know Jake asked, but in the future you need to check with me before you say yes."

"I told you you'd get in trouble," Alyssa said.

"Only because you don't want to play ball," Jamie said.

"No one is in trouble," Kellie said, turning around to look at the kids.

"But since Jason's our stepdad and our dad's gone, why can't we go with him and Jake to play catch," Jamie asked.

"We know Jason's not really our dad," Jared said, "But he kind of feels like it since he lives with us."

"You guys, miss your dad, don't you," Kellie said.

"Yeah, we do. We know it's not the same, Mom," Jamie said, "But our new brother or sister has him for a dad."

"Does that mean Jason and you won't have time for us with the new baby?" Alyssa asked, "Ashley says new baby's get all the attention."

"I will always have time for you, all of you," Kellie said, "Will the new baby need a lot of attention? Yes, but that doesn't mean I won't have time for you. You guys are really fortunate to have Jason as a stepdad and he can do some of the things your Dad would have done with you. But his own sons need that time with him, especially since they don't live with him. Think about it this way, how would you feel if I constantly did things with Jake and Danny and not you guys."

"I guess it wouldn't seem fair," Jamie said.

"You're not Jake and Danny's mom," Jared said, "It wouldn't make sense that we wouldn't get your to ourselves sometimes."

Kellie was unsure what to say next and the kids continued the car ride in silence. Kellie whispered to the guard who was driving. Instead of going straight home like they'd planned, the guard drove them to the cemetery.

"Why are we at the cemetery?" Jared asked, " I thought we were going home."

"Since you're missing your Dad, I thought maybe you'd like to visit his grave," Kellie said.

"It's not like his body is there, we dumped his ashes in the ocean," Jamie said.

"Doesn't mean we can't still visit the cemetery and his grave here," Kellie said, pulling s'mores supplies out of a grocery bag, "Maybe we can all have smore before we go home."

"Can we make Daddy a smore?" Alyssa said.

"Of course," Kellie said.

"If you bought smores supplies, does this mean we're having a campout in the backyard," Jared asked.

"That's exactly what it means," Kellie said.

"With a fire in the fire pit?" Jamie asked.

"What's a campout without a fire to roast marshmallows," Kellie said.

"Yes," Jared said.

"So let's go have a smore by Daddy's spot here," Kellie said, "And you can tell him everything about your day and what you're going to do on your campout."

"Are you sure Daddy can hear us?" Alyssa asked.

"I sure hope so," Kellie said.


	61. Chapter 61

**Author's Note: Heads up Danny's still being a jerk. Ugh...Actually more of one than I anticipated in this chapter. But since I don't think he'd be totally on board with Jason just yet, I can't quite get him out of that. However, Cameron is not happy about Danny's attitude around Jake and confronts Danny. Please note the turn of events at the end of this chapter will end up bringing forward progress to the Danny/Jason relationship. It's a little two steps forward, three steps back. **

At the park, Danny sat with his bag under the tree. He pulled out his phone and ignored Jake and Jason.

"Put the phone away," Jason said.

"Come on, Danny," Jake said, "Let's play ball."

Danny shrugged, "I don't want to."

"Catch," Jake said, throwing the ball at Danny. Danny wasn't fast enough and the ball knocked his phone out of his hands.

"You did that on purpose," Danny said.

"It was an accident," Jake said, "You were supposed to catch the ball."

Jason picked up Danny's phone off the ground, "It's fine, it still works."

Danny went to grab it and Jason put the phone in his pocket.

"That's my phone," Danny said.

"Grab your mitt," Jason said, "You can play games or text your friends later."

Danny glared at Jason and sat back by the tree.

Jason walked over to Danny, "Drew mentioned you were hoping to work on your pitching. We could do that."

"i may have to be here, but it doesn't mean I have to participate," Danny said, "I'll work on my pitching at practice."

"Just give Danny his stupid phone back," Jake said, "So he at least has something to do while he sulks."

"I am not sulking," Danny muttered.

"Whatever," Jake said, rolling his eyes.

Jason pulled Danny's phone out of his pocket and hesitated, "Could you at least play catch for a few minutes for Jake?"

"Hey Jake," Danny said, "Want to see my new game?"

Jake looked torn between Jason and Danny.

"Go ahead," Jason said, nodding towards Danny.

Jake sat next to Danny. Jason watched the two of them until Cameron and Trina showed up.

"My friends are here," Danny said and took off after Cam and Trina, "I want to see if they know how Oscar is."

"Hold on…"Jason started to say as Danny dodged him. Danny's actions did not go unnoticed by Cam and Trina.

"What about the game?" Jake asked.

"We can still play catch," Jason said, nodding at one of the guards to follow Danny. He planned to take up Danny's actions with him later.

"Why is Danny such a butthead?" Jake asked.

"First off, let's not call your brother a butthead," Jason said, trying not to laugh, "No matter how mad he makes you.

"Well, he is," Jake said, "I thought he was done being mad at you after he finally spent a night at your house."

"He's still mad," Jason said.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," Jason said.

"Next time Danny's with us," Jake said, "Maybe we should do something inside, so he can't run away."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jason said.

Meanwhile, Danny approached Cameron & Trina.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Jake and your dad today?" Cam asked.

"I am. They're right over there," Danny said.

"I know you have some sort of beef with your dad," Trina said, "But your little brother looks upset that you left. "

"Can you seriously not suck it up for Jake's sake for a few hours?" Cam said, seeing Jake half heartedly play catch with Jason.

"That's rich coming from you," Danny said, "You're not exactly warm and fuzzy with Franco."

"He's my stepdad, not my dad," Cam said, "There's a big difference. We're not asking you to make nice with your stepmom."

"In fact no one is," Trina said.

"Even I suck it up enough for Jake and Aidan," Cam said, "But from what I can tell everyone is bending over backwards to try keep you happy in all of this, but you don't seem to even care."

Danny lunged and shoved Cameron, "You don't know anything about me."

"I don't personally care what you do," Cam said, shoving Danny back "Except when it hurts my little brother."

"Is everything okay over here?" Jason asked, having seen Danny and Cam shoving.

"It's fine," Cam said, "Right, Danny?"

Danny nodded.

Jason didn't buy it, "Look, I don't want this anymore messed up for Jake than it already it. We'll pretend I buy that for now and discuss your behavior later, Danny."

"My behavior," Danny snorted.

"Seriously, Danny," Jason replied, "You're still grounded. If you want to keep this up, we'll talk with your mom about extending how long that's for."

"There won't be anymore attitude," Trina said, "Right, Danny. Right Cam?"

"Danny, this is the only warning you're getting," Jason said and headed back over to Jake.

"Or what you'll take me home," Danny yelled after Jason.

"Like that's going to happen," Trina said, "When your Dad knows that's exactly what you want. If I talked to my dad the way you talk to your's…."

Trina shook her head.

"Let's get out of here," Danny said.

Cameron blocked his path, "What the hell is your problem?"

"You're in my way," Danny said.

"No, We're settling this," Cam said, "I don't want to see or hear about you taking attitude when Jake's around again. We're figuring this out here and now."

"Not to mention Bruno over there will probably stop you," Trina said, "If your Dad doesn't first."

"Are you really so angry at Jason the you can't figure out how to coexist with Jake or at least tolerate your step siblings?" Cam asked, "What are you going to do when your new brother or sister's born? Pretend he or she doesn't exist because of whatever?"

"Of course not," Danny yelled.

"Cam's right," Trina said, "Because like it or not you're about share another sibling not just with Jake but with your step siblings too. That new sibling won't know anything about the past and your parents. All they're going to know is they have an older brother that's jerk to his brothers and sisters. By the way, thanks to Alyssa's play by play she gave Joss about the night you found her, I know you're capable of being decent human being. Your cousin has a serious case of hero worship."

"I wasn't going to leave her without a guard or with Aunt Kristina and that creep," Danny said, rolling his eyes.

"i heard you made her and brothers breakfast when their mom was sick," Trina said.

"He did what?" Cam said, "Dude, you can't just do that now? Throw the ball with Jake and your Dad and go home. If you have to be a jerk do it when it's just you and your Dad. Jake was really excited about spending time with both of you today."

"You wouldn't understand," Danny said, before running off.

While Jason ran after Cameron, Cam and Trina stayed with Jake.

"Come on," Cameron said, "I'll play."

"That's okay," Jake said, "Do you think Mom would let me spend the night at Dad's tonight?"

"We can always ask," Cam said, "Is there any particular reason?"

"Dad said that Jared and Jamie were having a campout in their back yard," Jake said, "and a campfire. That sounds like fun, more fun than watching Danny sulk."

Jake made sure Danny heard that last part as Jason brought him back.

"Dad, since Danny's not any fun," Jake said, "Can I spend the night with you and go to the campfire?"

"Danny, get in the car," Jason said, "I'll take you home after I drop Jake off either at his house or at mine."

Danny picked up his bag and ran to the car. Cam and Trina followed after him.

"Let me call your mom and see if you can stay the night," Jason said. Jason called Liz and explained the situation. Liz agreed to let Jake spend the night.

"Alright, buddy, one campfire and marshmallows coming up," Jason said, "How do you feel about being dropped off first? After I drop Danny off, I'll go pick up anything you need for the night."

"Awesome," Jake said, grabbing his stuff and running for the car, "I don't need anything, I left a bag of spare stuff at your place."

By the time, Jason got to the car, Jake had climbed in. The guard was standing outside the car.

"We have a situation," the guard said, "There's not enough room for everyone in the car. This vehicle only fits five. We have six."

"What do you mean six?" Jason asked, opening the car door to find Danny seated between Cam and Jake in the back seat. Trina was sitting in the front seat.

"What are you all doing in here?" Jason asked.

"Going to your campfire," Trina said.

"Danny said it sounded like a lot of fun," Cam said, "If that's okay."

"I made Danny promise to behave," Jake said.

Jason looked at Danny who just slumped in his seat.

"If you want to go home, Danny," Jason said, "I won't make you come over."

Danny shrugged.

"Oh, he's going," Cam said, "If you could stop by mine and Jake's house, we can pick up a few things for the campout. Danny can borrow some of my stuff if he needs to."

"Oh and can Josslyn come?" Trina asked, "if I can pry her away from Oscar's bedside long enough to make a smore."


	62. Chapter 62

Jason shut the car door and walked a few feet away to call Kellie.

"What's up?" Kellie asked when she answered, "How are things going with Danny and Jake?"

"Not well and I'm not sure," Jason said.

"Let me me move some place a little more private," Kellie said, "Johnny is setting up the tent and then the fire. The boys decided that I'm not allowed anywhere near the fire because the smoke might hurt the baby. Okay now tell me what's going on?"

"So we get to the park and Danny obviously doesn't want to be there," Jason said, "Refuses to play catch and asks Jake to come check out his game with him instead. Then he takes off when he sees Cam and Trina. Jake was disappointed. The next thing I know Cam and Danny are shoving each other. I go break it up and give Danny a warning."

"I'm guessing the warning didn't do much," Kellie said.

"I went back to Jake," Jason said, "And Danny ran off. Cam and Trina hung out with Jake while I went after Danny. When we get back, Jake asked if he could come spend the night and camp out with Jamie and Jared. Danny, Cam, and Trina all go over to the car while I check with Liz to see if Danny can spend the night. Liz says okay. Jake runs to the car. By the time I get there all four kids are in the car. Cam and Jake are saying they all want to go the campout, including Danny. I don't think Danny actually wants to come over. Trina wants to know if Joss can come. I honestly have no idea what just happened other than three extra kids have decided to crash at our house."

"That's a lot," Kellie said, "How long was Cam at the park before Danny joined him? Like long enough to see what happened with Danny and Jake when you got there?"

"i don't know," Jason replied, "Maybe."

"Keep in mind this is just a guess," Kellie said, "But maybe Cameron is taking an issue with how Danny's treating Jake. He is protective of both Jake and Aiden."

"If that's the case then maybe I should just bring Jake over and take the rest of the kids home," Jason said, "I don't want to wreck this for the younger if the older kids are fighting."

"Bring 'em all over," Kellie said, "We can always send the older kids home if there's a problem. I doubt Trina and Joss will spend the night anyway."

"Are you sure?" Jason asked.

"I'm sure," Kellie said.

"Why do I feel like I walked into the middle of one of your crazy plans?" Jason asked.

"Let's just say I have a theory," Kellie answered, "So maybe this might be along those lines. Anyway, we could tell the kids all at once the gender of baby. And tell Trina, yes, Joss can come."

**Kellie and Jason's House**

Jason drove up up to house and saw Kellie waiting out front with Trina, who had taken a ride share when they went to pick up Cam's stuff and Aidan wanted to come with them too.

"Alright Trina," Kellie asked, "What exactly went down at the park with Danny and Cameron?"

"Cameron reamed Danny out for being a jerk, especially where Jake's concerned," Trina said, looking at her phone, "I can't say that I blame him."

"Joss says Oscar wants to come," Trina said, "Says Drew thinks they can transport him here for a bit."

"That's fine, Trina," Kellie said, "but ask them to bring more smores supplies and hot dogs. I didn't buy enough for a whole party."

"No need," Trina said, showing Kellie the grocery bag she was holding, "I figured if we were going to invite ourselves to your house, the least I could do was make sure we wouldn't run out of smores and hot dogs."

The boys piled out of the car. Cameron prodded Danny out of the car. Jason was behind them.

"You're a good kid," Kelle said, "Be sure to tell your dad that."

"You know my dad?" Trina asked.

"Back when he was a cop in California," Kellie said as Aidan ran up to her.

"Where's the s'mores?" Aidan asked.

"Trina here will take you and Jake out to the backyard," Kellie said, "Danny's going to take everyone's stuff upstairs to his room."

Aidan and Jake cheered as they followed Trina. Cameron went to follow.

Kellie grabbed Cam's shirt to stop him, "You're not going anywhere just yet."

"That's not fair," Danny said, "Why do I have to take everything upstairs?"

"Because before you can join us in the backyard, you get a 30 minute timeout," Kellie said, putting her hand out, "Give me your phone."

"For what?" Danny asked.

"Sulking and running away at the park," Kellie said.

"What am I five?" Danny said.

"It's questionable," Kellie said, "But enough is enough. It's one thing for you take an attitude with me or your Dad, it's an entirely another thing for you take it out on your siblings or any of the other kids."

"You can't put me in time out." Danny said, looking at Jason.

"Actually, she can," Jason said, opening the back of the car, "At least when you're here. I agree with her. What you did to Jake today…I thought you had better manners than to be rude to your brother like that."

"I want to go home," Danny said, "I didn't even want to come."

"If you want to go home, I'll take you home," Jason said.

Cam started to protest until Kellie glared at him. She turned her attention back to Danny.

"You can go home after you take all the stuff upstairs and your time out is over," Kellie said, "Now hand over the phone."

"You're not my mom," Danny said.

"I am most definitely not," Kellie said, "But whether you like it or not, we're family. When your willful misbehavior hurts the other children in this family, I won't continue to stand back and let you treat your siblings or cousins with anything less than respect and kindness."

"Danny," Jason said.

"The sooner you hand over the phone and go upstairs, the sooner you can go home," Kellie said, "Or roast marshmallows and hot dogs with your brother and everyone else."

Danny handed Kellie the phone. Jason handed Danny some of the backpacks and sleeping bags. Jason took the rest himself.

"Leave the sleeping bags by the front door," Kellie said.

Danny and Jason went in the house.

"If you don't mind," Cameron said, moving towards the door, "I think I'll go roast a hot dog."

"I do mind," Kellie said, "You're not exactly an innocent party in all of this, Cameron Webber."

"I'm just looking out for Jake," Cameron said.

"Does Danny actually want to be here?" Kellie asked, "or is that your doing?"

"I may have told Jake Danny thought the campfire would be fun too," Cameron said.

"And backed him into something he obviously doesn't want," Kellie said.

"Well until you went all mafia princess on him just now," Cameron said, "I haven't seen anyone hold him accountable for ruining his time together with Jake. It's like he doesn't even want to hang out with Jake. It's not fair to Jake."

"No it's not," Kellie said, "But forcing Danny to spend time with us may not be your best idea. While your heart may be in the right place, this whole thing could blow up. I hope you realize that."

"I'll take full responsibility, Mrs. Morgan," Cameron said, "If things get out of hand, I'll intervene."

"No, you won't intervene," Kellie said, "You're in charge of Aidan. If things go haywire with Danny, Jake, or my kids, that's for Jason and I to sort out. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Cameron said, "Can I go now?"

"As long as you take the sleeping bags out back first," Kellie said.

Upstairs, after dumping the backpacks and bags, Danny immediately went for the tv in his and Jake's room, only to realize it was no longer in the room along with anything else he would consider fun.

"Where'd all my stuff go?" Danny asked.

"I'm guessing Kellie had it removed since you're supposed to be in time out," Jason said.

"That blows," Danny said flopping on the bed, "What I am I supposed to do?"

"Think about why you ended up in time out in the first place," Jason said, "That's normally how time outs work."

You're not really going to let Kellie put me in time out," Danny said, "It wasn't even for anything I did to her or to her kids."

"I am," Jason said, sitting on the bed, "Whenever you're here at our house, Kellie has every right to set the rules. The campfire was something she planned for Jamie, Jared, and Alyssa. It's her call when you get to join them, Jake, and the others."

"Even though whatever she thinks I did didn't happen here," Danny said.

"You realize that we'd still be sitting here talking before you went out to the campfire," Jason said, "Or when I took you home."

Danny groaned.

"Here's the deal," Jason said, "Until your attitude improves and you can tolerate the time we spend together just you and me, I won't plan anytime together with both you and Jake. You have to want to play with Jake even when I'm there. He looks up to you and wants to hang out with you. You weren't willing to do it aside from showing him your game. Even then you ditched him. That's not fair to Jake to get his hopes up about spending time with both of us and having you take off or forcing him to do only what you want."

"Whatever," Danny rolled his eyes.

"No, not whatever," Jason said, "We've tried giving you space and time to work out whatever this is. We've let you skip out on the times I want to spend with you and not forced you and itdoesn't seem to make a difference to you."

"Why should it make a difference to me?" Danny yelled, "Even if you don't ditch Jake and I for your new little family, you'll probably end up shot or disappear off the docks again. Jake too for that matter. We all thought he was dead in that car crash and he wasn't. So why doesn't matter if I spend time with you and Jake when I'd end up losing you all over again at some point?"


	63. Chapter 63

**Author's Note: It's been crazy couple of weeks and just took longer to write this chapter than I had hoped. Between adjusting to working from home and other non-pandemic related events, I wasn't in the head space to write productively. I will be updating when I can. ** ** I hope you're all staying safe out there. Fair warning: Danny is still a jerk in this chapter. but it'll back fire on him in the next chapter. I can tell you that much. **

Danny turned face down on the bed, "You can go away now."

"I think we should talk about this," Jason said.

"There's nothing to talk about," Danny said, "You and Jake will get killed, kidnapped or disappear one day or I will and getting close to each other is pointless."

"I can't guarantee that something bad won't ever happen to me," Jason said, "That's not the way life works. But that sounds like a pretty miserable way to live, not getting close to people because you're afraid of losing them."

"And grieving someone dying again is any better," Danny said.

"Look you can't live life being afraid of what might or might not happen," Jason said, "The truth is anything can happen at any given time. I wish I could tell you that wasn't the case. But if there's anything the last couple years have taught us between Oscar and Jamie, Jared' and Alyssa's dad is that nothing's guaranteed. I think we need to cherish and enjoy the time we have with each other when we have it."

"Easy for you to say," Danny replied, "At least you have a family unit of some sort. I just have bits and pieces of, I don't even know what you'd call it."

"What does that mean?" Jason asked.

"Drew's with Oscar all the time now and he should be," Danny said, "But Mom's off with Shiloh half the time. So it's not like I can rely on her either. I don't see why I should bother with any of you when it's very obvious no one has room for me and could be gone again just as easily."

"So let me make sure I understand this," Jason said, "On one hand you feel cheated for not feeling you like you have a family. But on the other hand you want nothing to do me and Jake and maybe your mom because we'll just leave you anyway

"Danny," Jason said, "I don't know what more I can do for you. You'd be welcome over here anytime. I've made every effort to spend time with you. Most of the time you don't want to be there. Tell me what else can I do to help you."

"Just go away and stop trying," Danny said.

"Is that what you really want?" Jason asked.

"I said go away," Danny said, laying on the bed and turning away from Jason.

"Danny," Jason said.

Danny grabbed the pillow and put it over his head.

Jason looked torn, but reluctantly left. Out in the hallway, he thought he saw someone dash in to Alyssa's room.

He looked in the room and found Kellie with a guilty look on her face.

"Alyssa wanted…" Kellie tried to offer up.

"You were eavesdropping, weren't you," Jason said.

"I might have stopped outside the bedroom door on my way to grab a jacket for Alyssa," Kellie said, "I'm sorry I know I shouldn't have. I just thought I might get some insight to help you. I just wanted to help you and Danny and Jake."

Jason pulled against him, "I will take any help I can get. You seem to be able figure out Danny better than any of the rest of us."

"It's like looking at a teenage version of my twenty something year old self," Kellie said, "I heard the part about pushing you and Jake away because he's afraid of losing you. That's what I did to Tyler."

"Do you think you might be able to get through to him even a little bit?" Jason asked.

"All I can do is try," Kellie said, "But until he decides he's done fighting, I don't know how much good I can do. Not to mention, he's got some sort of issue about not thinking he has a complete family unit of any kind or feeling excluded. We kind of need Sam and Drew to help with that part of it."

"Drew's tied up with Oscar," Jason said.

"As he should be," Kellie said, "I'll talk to Sam tomorrow about all the developments we've had with the foundation. Maybe she'll see we're making progress with Shiloh and the connections to the foundation, she'll back off Shiloh."

"I hope so," Jason said, "For Danny and Scout's sake otherwise…I…"

"You what?" Kellie asked.

"I don't know," Jason said.

"When Danny's timeout is up," Kellie said, "I'll feel it out and see if I can reach Danny in some way. In the meantime, why don't you go spend some time with Jake. Trina should have him happily roasting hot dogs or marshmallows by now."

"How do you do it?" Jason asked.

"Do what?" Kellie asked.

"Make navigating all this stuff with the kids tonight look so easy," Jason said, "A whole bunch of kids invited themselves to our house and Danny's being Danny and it doesn't faze you."

"Considering that fact I could hold my own with you and Dad and any of the families and I just launched an investigation into the foundation with no help from them at all,," Kellie said, "Dealing with a posse of kids all dealing with various strife and drama, that's easy."

"I'm glad one of us finds this easy," Jason said.

"Somehow we'll get Danny through this," Kellie said, "I'm not sure how but we will. In the meantime, if I'm going to talk to Danny, I'll need you to take Alyssa her jacket."

Kellie grabbed the jacket off the floor and handed it to Jason.

Out in the backyard, Jason gave Alyssa her jacket and then sat next to Jake.

"Is Danny joining us?" Jake asked.

"If he wants to," Jason said, "But he's in time out."

"Isn't he too old for a time out?" Jake asked, roasting his marshmallow, "Not that he doesn't deserve it."

"No," Jason said, nodding at the bag of marshmallows next to Jake, "Are you going to share the marshmallows?"

Jake handed Jason the bag of marshmallows.

"Alright, now I heard there were hot dogs and marshmallows," Drew said, "Do you have a preference Oscar?"

Meanwhile upstairs, Kellie knocked on Danny's slightly open door before entering. She leaned against the door frame. Danny ignored her.

"Your time out's over," Kellie said, "So are you going home or are you going to try and have fun for once?"

Danny rolled his eyes.

"It wouldn't kill you to go have fun with Jake and your dad," Kellie said, "What's your deal that you can't play nice even for Jake?"

Danny shrugged.

"I asked you a question," Kellie said.

"It's not like we're actually close or anything," Danny said, "Helena kidnapped him for years."

"Do you want to be close with your brother?" Kellie asked.

"What's the point?" Danny asked.

"That's not what I asked, " Kellie said, "Do you want to be close with Jake? I didn't ask what you what you think makes sense."

"It's the same thing," Danny said.

"No it's not," Kellie said.

"What would you know about it?" Danny asked.

"Plenty, Squirt," Kellie said, "What exactly have you heard over the years about me and my relationship with Tyler?"

"You were high school sweethearts," Danny rolled his eyes, "That eventually were reunited after you found your dad. You had the all American family dream until Tyler died."

"Story time, Squirt," Kellie said, ignoring Danny's glares, "Once upon a time there was a girl who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and her mom died without telling her who her dad was. She bounce around from family to family until one day a lawyer helped her get a job and permission from the courts to live on her own while going to school. The lawyer had a son and she and the son fell in love. On her graduation night, they were going to elope and get married. Before that could happen, she was kidnapped and hurt. Her attacker didn't end up going to prison. Fearing he'd try to hurt her fiancee, she decided to fake her death in hopes of protecting him. She lived on the run from her attacker until she happened to find her father."

"If your mom didn't tell you who your dad was how…"Danny interrupted.

"That's another story," Kellie said, "Our girl's attacker dies in a police bust and she goes off and becomes a spy. Eventually, she comes back to help her dad with his business."

Danny looked sideways at her, "Uncle Sonny let you work with him?"

"You can wikipedia the rumors around it later," Kellie said, "Some of it anyway. It turned out her fiancee worked for her Dad's Miami office. When she saw him again, he didn't realize who she was and she didn't tell him."

"Tyler sounds like an idiot for not recognizing his ex-fiancee," Danny muttered.

"A whole bunch of other things happened including her thinking he was dead because her uncle killed him and frame her dad for it," Kellie said, "But eventually she told him the truth about who she was and he decided to stick around for awhile. Our boy and our girl still had feelings for each other, but wouldn't act on them. Then our girl needed a lawyer while trying to rescue you and Molly. Somewhere in the middle of that adventure or drama, they needed to get information from a priest who needed to meet his wedding quota for the month."

"What kind of priest has a wedding quota?" Danny asked.

"I don't know," Kellie said, "I really didn't have time to ask a lot of questions and Robert Scorpio and Luke Spencer were involved. But we got married to get the information and would annul the marriage later. After you and Molly were rescued, Tyler got hurt and his dragon lady mother showed up to take charge of his life."

"You stayed married to Tyler because you don't like his mom?" Danny asked.

"He didn't like her either," Kellie said, "She did kidnap us on our first date. Again, beside the point. We decided to see if we could stay married for real and I was about to commit to it when my brother got shot and ended up in a coma. I decided at that point my life was too dangerous for Tyler, skipped town, and served him divorce papers."

"Wait you tried to divorce Tyler?" Danny asked. "I thought you had some fairy-tale romance when you were reunited."

"Not in the beginning that's for sure," Kellie said, "Because I was my own worst enemy, same as you. Even after Tyler refused to sign the divorce papers, crashed my hideout and I had a mental breakdown, I still wasn't ready to let myself be happy with him. I made myself and him miserable continuing to push him away. I loved Tyler, but thought I should push him away so I wouldn't get hurt if he should get hurt because of the choices I made, the life I led."

"Or Dad and Uncle Sonny's business," Danny said, "Since you were involved I assume that Tyler would have been a target because of that."

"In the end, Tyler didn't die because he got caught in the crossfire,"Kellie said, "It was Leukemia and could have happened to anybody. It took me almost dying to be able to finally let go of all my fears about Tyler getting hurt and losing him again. What's it going to take for you to get you're hurting yourself more than anybody?"

"He still could died because…" Danny started.

"and I still would have grieved his loss," Kellie said, "even if I'd continued to push him away. I can't change the circumstances of my past and what our dads do for a living. Neither can you. That's the cold hard truth, Danny. I can't tell you not to push your dad and Jake away. But what I can tell you is pushing away people you love just makes you miserable and losing them won't hurt any less. I spent years trying to pretend I didn't care. As much as I tried not to hurt my siblings, I still did just like I did Tyler. I'm just glad mine were patient enough to wait for me to figure out my stuff the same way Jake is waiting for you to figure it out."

"What is this?" Danny asked, "An after school special where you expect us hug and make up."

"No," Kellie said, "I know better than that. Just think about what I said. It's a choice only you can make. I hope you'll make the choice to be happy regardless of your circumstances or what you fear might happen. In the meantime, your time out's over. If you want to have hot dogs and marshmallows, you can join us in the backyard. If you want to go home, let your dad know."

Kellie walked out of the room leaving Danny to his thoughts.


	64. Chapter 64

Kellie went out to the backyard to find Drew and Josslyn getting Oscar settled near the fire. Jake and Jason were eating s'mores while Trina helped Alyssa with her marshmallows. Cameron was with Aidan and Jared was bring s'mores supplies to Oscar while Jamie worked on roasting his marshmallows.

"Is Danny coming?" Alyssa asked.

"If he wants to," Kellie said.

"I'll go get him," Alyssa said.

"Nope, if he wants to join us he will," Kellie said, sitting next to Jamie and grabbing a roasting stick, "I need a marshmallow."

Jared grabbed the marshmallows and walked over to Kellie.

"I'll roast it for you," Jared said, "You shouldn't be so close the smoke."

"It's not good for the baby," Jamie said, focused on roasting his marshmallow.

"Boys, one night by campfire won't harm the baby," Kellie said, putting her hand out to Jared for the marshmallow.

"How do you know for sure?" Jared asked.

"I bet my mom could settle this," Oscar said.

"How so?" Jared asked.

"She's a baby doctor," Oscar said, "Why don't we call and ask her if Kellie can hangout by the fire?"

"Only if my mom promises to sit away from the fire because your mom said that's what she should do," Jared said.

"Deal," Kellie said.

Jared nodded his agreement.

"Dad, can you call mom and ask her?" Oscar asked Drew.

"Sure," Drew said, grabbing his phone. He called Kim and explained the situation.

When he hung up the phone, he said, "Your mom will be roasting her own marshmallows."

"Wait, huh?" Jared asked.

"The baby doctor said one night by the campfire won't hurt your Mom or the baby one bit," Drew said.

"Hand over the marshmallow," Kellie said.

"Never make deals with mom," Jamie said, trying not to laugh at this brother, "You can't win."

"But…" Jared said.

"A deal's a deal," Oscar said.

"And you want your mom to have fun right?" Josslyn asked.

Jared handed Kellie the marshmallow.

"You know, I'm going to need graham crackers and chocolate bars too," Kellie said. Josslyn passed the crackers and chocolate bars around.

Jared sat on the other side of Kellie and reluctantly pulled his own marshmallow out of the bag.

Alyssa who had finished her s'more bolted upon seeing Danny come down stares.

"You came to roast marshmallows," Alyssa said, happily. She launched herself at Danny hugging him.

"Come sit next to me," Alyssa said.

"Alyssa, let Danny decide what he wants to do," Kellie said.

"Roast marshmallows," Alyssa said, "Why else would he come down here if he wasn't going to have s'mores?"

"Alyssa," Kellie said, motioning for her to come over to her.

"You're no fun," Alyssa said, ignoring Kellie and sitting next to Trina.

Danny stood unsure of what to do.

"Do you want to stay or do you want to go home?" Jason asked him.

Danny didn't answer Jason, but walked over to Oscar and Josslyn and sat next to them.

Alyssa grabbed the marshmallows and took them to Danny. She sat next to him.

Kellie watched as the kids roasted marshmallows and chatted, noticing Jake looked unhappy that Danny was ignoring him. She also saw Cameron looking as if he wanted to intervene.

Kellie shook her head at Cameron. Cameron reluctantly backed off for the moment.

"I'm going to get something to drink," Kellie said, "Does anybody else want anything?"

Kellie was greeted by sounds of voices making there requests.

"Do you need a hand, Mrs. Morgan?" Trina asked.

"I'd appreciate it," Kellie said as she and Trina walked into the house.

"I'll give you a hand too," Drew said, following them as Jamie and Jared huddled off to the side by themselves.

Kellie led them to the garage where the extra fridge was.

Kellie started pulling out water, juice, and soda and handing them to Trina.

"Why don't we grab an ice chest?" Drew asked.

"Get some of everything," Trina said, "People can pick what they want themselves. You only have a basketball team hanging out in your backyard."

"Good idea,' Kellie said.

"If you want to go back to Joss and Oscar and Cam," Drew said to Trina, "I think we've got getting the drinks handled."

Trina looked at Kellie and Drew, "I get it, a meeting of the step parents. Good luck. After what I saw at the park with Danny today, you're going to need it."

Trina left Drew and Kellie to talk. Drew grabbed the ice chest off the shelf.

"I'm getting the impression Jason's visit with Danny and Jake at the park didn't go so well," Drew said as they added drinks to the ice chest.

"Danny was his usual self," Kellie said, "And refused to have anything to do with Jason or Jake really. He ditched them to hang out with Cameron and Trina."

"No wonder Jake is throwing daggers at Danny right now," Drew said, "And Cameron?"

"Livid at Danny for being mean to Jake," Kellie said, "Somehow Jake wanting to come over here led to Danny, Cameron, and Trina inviting themselves along. But I'm pretty sure Cameron had something to do with dragging Danny along."

"You are brave to take on having all those kids over with half them of ready to throttle each other," Drew said.

"Well, I also put Danny in time out when he got here," Kellie said.

"Still no luck getting through to him," Drew asked.

"No, Jason tried to talk to him and Danny demanded he leave," Kellie said, "But not before he let slip that he pushes Jason and Jake away because he's afraid of losing them again."

"I wish there was some way we could get him through this faster," Drew said.

"I'm trying," Kellie said, "Which while we're here, my forensic accountants turned over evidence to the police that one of of the board members and the executive director at the foundation have been embezzling funds. Some of the those payments may have been to Dawn of Day and Shiloh. The executive director and Shiloh were college roommates. And his sister works for Sec Nav."

"May have been made to Shiloh?" Drew replied.

"Investigation is still on going," Kellie said, "But I'm hoping this eventually takes care of Shiloh and Garrett."

"Does Sam know?" Drew asked.

"Not yet," Kellie said, "All this happened today. It's been a busy couple of days. And thank you for keeping Jason from beating up Evan Walsh at the Floating Rib the other night."

"I can't say he wouldn't have deserved it," Drew said, "But you're welcome."

"What exactly did he say to…" Kellie started to ask.

"If Jason didn't tell you, I won't," Drew said, lifting the ice chest, "Now what do you say we get these drinks to the kids and save Jason from wrangling them all by himself?"

In the backyard, Kellie noticed the tension between Danny and Jake still. While she was handing out drinks to the kids, Jared and Jamie approached Danny.

Kellie couldn't make out the words that were exchanged between the three boys. The next thing anyone knew a fight a broken out between Danny, Jared, and Jamie.


	65. Chapter 65

The boys were a brawling mess as Jason and Drew moved between the boys and the fire pit. Jamie got in a solid punch at Danny causing Jake to join the fray, taking Danny's side against the twins.

"Don't hurt my brother," Jake said, plowing into Jamie.

Before Jason and Drew could intervene further, the boys tumbled into the tent toppling it. Cameron moved as if to intervene.

"Let Jason and Drew break it up," Kellie said, "I'm going to have you help me with something in the house. Trina, Josslyn, watch Aidan and Alyssa and have Jason and Drew bring the boys to the kitchen once they break up the fight."

"I've had about enough of…." Cameron started to say.

"One Jake launched himself into that fight," Kellie said, "Two, you're the one that worked it so Danny came here. Three, all of four of them need to get a few things out of their systems if we have any hope of getting all of them to tolerably co-exist. I know you want to protect your brother, but the tiptoe method of trying to resolve this wasn't working."

"So you're thinking that they'll make up and be friends afterwards," Cameron.

"I hope so," Kellie said, "Not that a knock down drag out fight was what I had in mind. I know all four boys know that's not okay. Which is why I need you to help me clear out Jamie and Jared's rooms of anything they would consider fun and check Jake's room with Danny for anything fun. Though we already cleaned that one out earlier."

"I take it the campout is off then?" Cameron said.

"Yeah, considering the tent's been deconstructed, " Kellie said, "Jake, Jamie, Jared, and Danny will be sleeping in their own rooms here tonight. As for you and Aidan, I have a guest room the two of you can stay in or we'll call your mom and can send you home."

"What about Jake?" Cameron asked.

"Unless your mom is adamant that he can't stay," Kellie said, "I'd like him to spend the night here still and see if we can work out whatever this is out between the boys. Being punished together might give them something in common to commiserate over."

Cameron looked torn, " I get what you're saying…but I just don't know."

"Think about it," Kellie said, "I'd like to get Jake some time with Jason by himself tomorrow since today has been all about Danny's issues. Let me know what you want to do. In the meantime, upstairs."

Cameron helped Kellie move a few things out of Jared and Jamie's room.

Kellie made a call to Liz on speaker for Cameron to hear and explained the situation to Liz. Though Liz was reluctant about letting Jake stay, she agreed with persuasion from Cam.

"It's my fault that the campout became a disaster, Mom," Cameron said, "I made Danny come thinking that I could get him stop acting like a brat around Jake. Kellie warned me the whole thing could blow up. I'll stay to make sure Jake's okay…."

"Cameron I'm not sure this is a good idea," Liz said.

"Let me make this up to Jake, Mom," Cameron said.

"And you'll keep on eye on, Aiden," Liz asked.

"Of course," Cameron said.

"I'm not thrilled with the idea of the boys staying there, but I'd like the boys and Jason to work whatever this out," Liz replied, "Jake can stay and if Cameron and Aiden want to stay, I'll leave that up to them."

Meanwhile, outside, Drew had grabbed the twins holding both of them back. Jason held Danny back while Jake moved out of the way. Jamie and Danny were both really trying to go at each other again.

"What the hell is your problem?" Danny asked, his jaw smarting from where Jamie had decked him.

"You're a jerk," Jamie yelled.

"Especially to your little brother," Jared said, ceasing to keep fight and Drew let go of him, "Case closed."

"It's none of your business," Danny said, him and Jamie still trying to lunge at each other.

"It became our business when you and Jake became our step-brothers," Jared said, "And we actually like Jake and think your attitude well sucks for lack of a better word."

Drew and Jason attempted to say some to stop the boys, but the boys ignored them.

"Let me at him," Jamie said, "I'm not done teaching the little punk a lesson."

"Little" Danny replied, "I'm taller and older than you."

"He does fight better than you," Jake said as Jared stepped between Danny and Jamie.

Jared looked Danny square in the eye, "We've had enough of your shit."

"Language," Alyssa yelled.

Jared rolled his eyes and continued, "Jamie and I have tried to be nice to you. All we get is ignored by you and doors slammed in our face. Our mom has tried to be nice to you and make this better for you. I'm surprised she hasn't read you the riot act yet."

"She has," Danny muttered.

"If you want to spend time with your dad," Jared said, ignoring him, "Then stop sulking and go to your visits or whatever. But whatever you do, stop being mean to Jake."

"Or what," Danny asked.

Jared moved out from the space between Danny and Jamie. Before Drew knew what happened Jared knocked his arm away from Jamie. Jamie's armed moved as if to punch Danny again. But Drew grabbed his arm and stopped it.

The boys broke out in squabbling and Jake stepped on Jared and Jamie's feet causing Jason to have to grab him as well.

"Enough," Jason yelled getting the boys attention, "The longer you keep fighting the worse the punishments going to be."

The boys resigned themselves to stopping at least for now.

"Kellie said to bring the boys into the kitchen," Trina said.

Jason and Drew took the boys into the kitchen. Noticing Danny's face was bruising, Jason grabbed an ice back from the freezer and gave it to him.

"What happened?" Jason asked as Kellie and Cameron joined them, "How'd the fight start?"

Cameron continued out into the back yard.

"Jared said a bad word," Alyssa said having tagged along, "And Jamie hit Danny."

"Alyssa, if you can't be quiet right now," Kellie said, "You need to go out in the backyard with Josslyn and Trina."

Alyssa stayed silent and watched.

"You boys were asked a question," Kellie said, "How'd you wind up in a brawl?"

"Danny started it," Jamie said, "By ignoring Jake and screwing up their time at the park."

"Then that's between Jason, Danny, and Jake," Kellie said, "Not the three of you."

"You and Jared approached me," Danny said, "You started it."

"Let's try asking this a different way," Drew said, "Who did and said what after Jamie and Jared went over to Danny?"

The boys all looked at each other and remained silent.

"I don't know what was said," Kellie said, "But I'm guessing after whatever initial words Jared and Jamie had for Danny, that Danny didn't respond how you hoped. At which point, Jared with his gift for words said something with the intention of making Danny mad and the fight broke out."

Jared slumped in his chair.

"Who made the first move?" Kellie asked.

More silence.

"I'm sorry," Jake said, "For getting into the fight and hurting Jared and Jamie."

"You were defending your brother," Jamie said, "No big deal."

"No harm done," Jared said.

"We do still want to know what happened," Jason said.

"I'm not talking without a lawyer," Danny said.

Jamie kicked Danny under the table.

"Knock it off," Kellie said as Jason grabbed an envelope from the counter.

"Should we tell them?" Jason asked. Kellie nodded as he pulled a couple of sonogram photos out of the envelope. He handed on to Kellie.

"Tell us what?" Alyssa asked.

"We found out if the baby's a boy or a girl today," Kellie said, "We have a picture of the baby."

"I want to see a picture of my baby brother," Alyssa said, moving next to Kellie.

"Actually, it's a baby sister," Kellie said, kneeling down and showing Alyssa the picture.

"No, because then I'd have to share with her," Alyssa said.

"Might be good for her," Jamie muttered.

"She'll be too little to want to share your stuff," Jake said, looking at Jason pictures, "Can I paint a picture for her nursery."

"I'm sure she'd love that," Jason said.

Jake handed the sonogram to Danny who glanced at it. He tried to pretend he didn't care.

"It doesn't look like a baby," Jamie said as he and Jared looked at the one Kellie handed them.

"It looks all fuzzy,"Jared said.

"Maybe Mommy really is just getting fat," Alyssa said.

"She's definitely having a baby," Danny said.

"Like you care," Jamie said.

This time Danny kicked back. Jason and Kellie gave all the boys a look stopping them from continuing any further.

"Is this the kind of family you want your new sister to grow up in?" Jason said, "Where her brothers either fight all the time or refusing to get along."

"And she feels like she has to pick sides," Jake said.

"No," Danny said quietly.

"That's what she'll grow up in," Kellie said, "If you can't figure out how to get along."

"That doesn't seem fair," Jared said.

"It doesn't," Jason said, "But it's up to you guys whether that changes."

The boys didn't respond.

"And with that," Kellie said, "It's bed time."

"Camping in the tent, yes," Jamie said.

"Which you all knocked over fighting," Kellie said, "The camp out's over. You're sleeping in your own beds tonight."

Jake, Jared, and Jamie protested.

"Next time, don't get into a fight and knock down the tent," Kellie said, "Consider this part of the consequences of your actions."

"Are we grounded?" Jared asked.

"We'll discuss it tomorrow," Kellie said as the boys groaned, "Now upstairs. Do not procrastinate."

"She means business," Jared said to Danny and Jake, noting the tone of her voice, "Whatever she says to do, just do it."

"I guess we're going home," Danny said.

"No," Kellie said, "If there is anything you need from the tent for the night, grab it now. Don't dawdle."

"Come on," Jason said, herding the boys out the door.

"I don't get a camp out either," Alyssa said.

"I'm sorry," Kellie said, "The tent was pretty throughly wrecked. We'll have make sure it will go back up and stay up before that can happen."

"Stupid boys," Alyssa huffed.

Drew had been staying off to the side spoke up, "I have an idea. What do you and your mom think about you having a sleep over with Scout and a breakfast tea party in the morning?"

"At Nana Liv's?" Alyssa asked, "Away from all the stinky boys."

Drew nodded, "Although I can't guarantee Leo doesn't stink."

"Maybe a little sister would be better," Alyssa said, "if it means less stinky boys."

"Even up the numbers a little bit," Kellie said, "I take it you'd like to have a sleep over with Scout."

"Please," Alyssa asked.

"Go get what you need for the night," Kellie said as Alyssa ran upstairs. Kellie then turned to Drew, "Do you have room for her in the car or I can have her ride with the guards."

"We have room," Drew said.

"Thank you," Kellie said.

"You have your hands full," Drew said, "Alyssa shouldn't have her evening be a total loss. What about Cam and Aidan?"

"I talked to Liz," Kellie said, "They're going to stay in the guest room. Cameron wants to keep an eye on Jake and we'd liked to see if we can make any headway with the all of the boys. I really wasn't expecting Jamie and Jared to end up getting right in the middle."

"They're protective of their family," Drew said, "They had apparently had enough of Danny's attitude with them, you, and Jake was the last straw."

Alyssa ran downstairs with a backpack, "I have everything I need."

Kellie looked and just saw a couple of Alyssa's favorite dolls and a book, "What about clothes and a toothbrush."

"Nana Liv has extra for me," Alyssa said, "I'm ready to go, Uncle Drew."

"Well, we have to help Oscar get in the car," Drew said, "Do you think you can help me do that?"

Alyssa nodded.

"Before you run off," Kellie said, "Can I have a hug good night in case I'm getting the boys settled for night when you leave."

Alyssa hugged Kellie, "Night mommy." She ran off into the back yard.

Drew, Josslyn, Oscar, Trina, and Alyssa left. Kellie set up Cameron and Aidan in media room as Aidan still insisted he wanted a sleep over on the floor. After making sure the boys were settled for the night, Jason found Kellie had fallen sleep. She was still wearing her clothes and laying on top of the covers.

Meanwhile Danny laid on his bed staring at the ceiling.

"Night," Jake said.

Danny didn't reply at first, "Why'd you take my side against Jamie and Jared?"

"You're still my brother even if you are a jerk," Jake said, "It wouldn't have been a fair fight otherwise."

"I'm bigger than them," Danny said.

"Jamie and Jared know how to fight," Danny said, "Karate and some stuff their mom taught them. You didn't stand a chance."

"Thank you, I think," Danny said, "I guess I'm sorry for screwing up your day."

"You're forgiven. Just don't do it again," Jake said, drifting off to sleep.


	66. Chapter 66

**_Author's Note: I hope everyone is staying well and safe. Have a great day!_**

Cameron made his way upstairs, cautiously. He opened the door to Jared and Jamie's room. He motioned silently for them to follow him.

Jamie threw his covers off as Jared looked at him skeptically, "Hold on, you better have a really good reason for asking us to to."

"Do you want to work things out with Danny?" Cameron whispered, "For Jake and the new baby. No adults. Just us."

"It can't hurt to try," Jamie said.

"If we get caught," Jared said, "We're blaming you."

"No fights," Cameron said, "I need your word. Otherwise we will get caught."

"Alright," Jared said, throwing his covers off and following Cameron.

"Go down your media room," Cameron said, "I'll get Jake and Danny."

Jared and Jamie went downstairs. Before Cameron could get Jake and Danny, the door to Jason and Kellie's room opened.

Jason stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. He heard Jared and Jamie whispering headed down the stairs.

"Do you need something?" Jason asked Cameron.

"I just wanted to check on Jake," Cameron said.

Jason looked at Cameron skeptically, "And Jamie and Jared are out of bed because?"

Cameron stuttered over his response.

"You've already been caught," Jason said, "Why don't you start with the truth?"

"I thought I might be able to negotiate a truce or something," Cameron said, "I can't stand back while Jake gets hurts because Danny can't seem to get along with you or Jake or your family. Maybe it's a dumb idea."

"Maybe not," Jason said, "You can only try. But no fighting and if Kellie wakes up…"

"I understand," Cameron said.

Jason nodded and disappeared back into the bedroom.

Cameron got Jake and Danny. Jake was eager to go downstairs, but Danny took some convincing.

They went downstairs to find Jared and Jamie grabbing snacks. Jake joined grabbing some of his favorites out of the pantry.

"This is not quiet," Cameron said.

"What's a sleepover without a midnight snack raid," Jamie replied.

"What if your mom wakes up?" Jake asked.

"She won't," Jared said, "Not with the baby making her tired."

"Besides if we get caught," Jamie said, "We're all getting in trouble together. Which means no one is snitching to Mom or Uncle Jason."

"Aren't we all already in trouble together?" Jake asked.

"It's Cameron's idea," Jared said, "And he's the oldest, so we'll blame him."

"Thanks a lot," Cameron said.

"This is your idea," Danny said.

"Here," Jamie said, shoving a bag of candy at Danny, "These must be yours. No one else here eats these."

Danny looked at the bag of sweet and sour candy confused, "They're my favorite actually."

Jared handing him and Cameron each a large popcorn bowl, "Come on, Jake gets to pick the movie."

Jake, Jamie, and Jared grabbed their snacks and went to the media room.

"This may be the dumbest idea you had in mind," Danny said, "We're so getting caught."

"We may as well enjoy it," Cameron said, "And besides like they said what's a sleepover without a midnight snack raid."

Cameron ate some popcorn and left Danny in the kitchen. Danny thought about it and then followed Cameron.

Jake was picking out a movie when Cameron and Danny found them. Aiden was happily eating Jake's candy.

Before Jared could turn the tv on, Cameron grabbed the remote from him.

"Hey," Jared said.

"Before we watch a movie," Cameron said, "We all have to talk. What's it going to take for you all to get along?"

"Why do you care?" Jamie asked, "You're not related to us."

"Not even as a stepbrother," Jared said.

Danny smirked.

"But Jake is my brother and I care about what happens to him," Cameron said, " I think both of you care about what happens to Jake. And right now everyone not getting along isn't fair to him."

"Why don't we ask Jake how he feels about that?" Danny replied.

"What did any of us ever do to you?" Jake exploded at Danny, "I know you're mad at Dad. But what does that have to do with us? Jamie and Jared didn't make Dad marry their mom. What's so bad about that, Danny? Dad's been around more since he came back from the island and married her. But you wouldn't know that since you refuse to see him…."

"You died," Danny snapped, "Both of you."

Silence filled the room.

"But I didn't actually die," Jake said, confused, "And neither did Dad."

"I thought you did though," Danny said, "You know what. It doesn't matter. Let's just watch the movie."

"No, it does matter," Cameron said.

"Wait, everyone thought Jake was dead?" Jared asked.

"We know about Uncle Jason," Jamie said, "But Jake."

"Yeah, " Cameron said, "We thought he'd been hit by car. Turns out Helena Cassadine just wanted everyone to think he was dead."

"She kidnapped us too," Jared said, "At least that's what we were told."

"She's crazy," Jamie said, "At least that's what Mom and Dad told us. What don't you just blame her instead of your dad and Jake?"

"I don't blame….," Danny said, "I just don't want to go through losing them again. Considering what Dad does for a living."

"You mean coffee importer," Jake said.

"Yes, coffee importer," Jared said, straight faced daring Danny to say otherwise.

"If you really…" Danny started to say when Cameron smacked him upside the head

"You mean because people don't like Dad and Uncle Sonny?" Jake asked, "And might try to hurt them."

"Yeah," Danny said, then turned to Jamie and Jared, "Don't you worry about your mom and that she…."

Cameron glared at Danny.

"Used to help Uncle Jason and Grandpa Sonny with their coffee business," Jamie said, "Sure. But we worried about her before we learned that when she went on rescue missions to save people."

"That's normal for us," Jared said, "But we're not jerks to everyone because of it."

"Maybe Danny needs to see a shrink," Jamie said.

"Are you serious?"Danny said, "You think I'm crazy?"

Jared rolled his eyes, "No, because that would mean Jamie and I are. We're definitely not crazy. Mom made us see shrink when we moved here."

"She thought we might need to talk to someone with our dad dying and Alyssa being kidnapped," Jamie said, "It kind of helped not that we'd ever admit that."

"Mom thinks we only agreed to keep going so Alyssa would," Jared said, "We'd like to keep that way so she doesn't worry."

"I won't say anything," Danny said, "I'd do the same for Scout."

"Really?" Jake asked, "Because I'm pretty sure you've given your mom plenty to worry about."

"Like she even cares," Danny said, "She's too busy trying to rescue Aunt Kristina or something."

"From what?" Jamie asked.

"Some cult creep," Danny said.

"You mean Shiloh?" Jared said.

"You know about him?" Danny asked.

"Mom tells us who we should avoid," Jamie said, "He's one of them. Even before Aunt Krissy took Alyssa to see him."

"What does your Mom think he did?" Danny asked.

"We don't know," Jared said, "It's apparently a grown up conversation."

"The guy has perv written all over him," Danny said.

"What's a perv?" Aidan asked.

"A creep," Cameron said.

"Anyway," Danny said, "Is he the type of creep your mom's foundation would investigate? Then maybe my mom wouldn't have to investigate him."

"No idea," Jamie said, "But we can ask on one condition."

"We don't expect to be best friends or anything," Jared said, "We just want you stop being a jerk to Jake and the rest of us, especially when the baby's born."

That's all we're asking," Jamie said, "Like it or not we're all family with the new baby coming."

"You might find you actually like us," Jared said.

"Depends," Danny said.

"On what?" Jake asked.

"If Jamie can teach me how to punch like he does," Danny said.

"That could be arranged," Jamie said.

"So everyone's perfectly clear," Cameron said, "You're calling a truce."

"I guess we are," Danny said.

"For real?" Jake asked, "You're not going to decide not to honor the truce later."

"For real," Danny said, "I will try to be a better brother and I won't back out. I just I don't know how that looks."

"No one does," Jamie said, "Especially when your mom marries your cousin's dad."

"Now you're making us sound like hicks," Jared said.

"Welcome to Port Charles," Danny muttered.

"So truce then," Cameron said, "I think you guys should shake on it."

"Spit shake," Jamie said.

"That's disgusting," Jared said, "Do people still do that?"

"It's either that or a blood oath," Jamie said, "Mom will notices a cut on our hands."

"We're spit shaking," Jake said, "All of us, Cameron and Aidan too."

"This is really between the four of you," Cameron said, "I was just trying to help."

"We're making a pact," Jake said, "All six of of us. We're all connected by blood in one way or another or will be. So we make a pact to treat each other like brothers, look out for each other, watch out for our sisters, and have each others back when it matters most."

Jamie and Jake spit on their hands and extended them. Aidan followed suit.

"Truce," Jamie said,

"Truce," Aidan said, innocently.

"Truce," Jared said, spiting and extending his hand out.

"Truce," Danny said, doing same, "This was your idea, Cameron. Now you're really stuck with me."

"I think I can handle it, truce," Cameron said, spitting and extending his hands.

The boys all shook hands with each other.

"Can we start the movie now?" Jake asked.

"Of course," Jamie said, taking the remote back from Cameron and turning the tv on.

**The next morning**

Kellie woke up, looked at the clock, and realized she'd slept in. She also realized she'd slept in yesterday's clothes.

Kellie sat up as Jason entered the room, carrying a bakery bag.

"You're awake," Jason said.

"Jason, the boys," Kellie said.

"I got it handled," Jason said, "You crashed last night."

"I'm stilling wearing yesterday's clothes," Kellie said.

"You had a a busy day yesterday," Jason said.

"Murder interrogation, fraud investigation," Kellie said, "Finding our we're having a girl."

"And keeping a whole posse of kids who haven't been getting along in line at an impromptu sleepover," Jason said, handing Kellie the bakery bag.

"You got doughnuts," Kellie asked after looking in the bag.

"Drew sent them over," Jason said as Kellie pulled out a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles and bit into it, "This was one was sent courtesy of Olivia. She want wanted to make sure you got it."

"Olivia is also planning to come over," Jason said, "And she told me to tell you she made arrangements for you to go to MetroCourt Spa this afternoon, whatever you want."

"Well first I have to have the boys clean up the backyard," Kellie said, "But a massage sounds amazing."

"I already have the boys cleaning up the yard," Jason said, "But there's something else you need to know."

"Oh god, what happened now?" Kellie asked, "Did the boys get into another fight? I'm so tired of all the not getting along. I know that we threw a lot at the kids with our marriage and now baby on top of everything else they've been dealing. But I just want them to figure it out out before the baby's born. I want Danny to know his little sister and oh god I am a hormonal mess this morning."

Kellie took another bite of her doughnut as her eyes got teary.

"There were no fights, the boys are fine," Jason said, "I'm not entirely sure what happened last night, but they seem to be getting along. Look I caught Cameron getting the boys up to join him and Aidan downstairs. He was trying see if he could help broker a peace deal. I didn't see the harm in letting him try."

"Do you think it worked?" Kellie asked.

"I think so," Jason said, "It seems like whatever they need to work out, they did. Danny seems to have toned down the attitude. All Cameron will tell me is it worked out better than he hoped."

"If they're holding confidences," Kellie said, "That's a good sign."

"Other than Cameron, the boys think they got away with sneaking out of their rooms," Jason said, "It's probably better that we let them think they got away with it this time."

"You're right," Kellie said, "So how did the sneaking out turn up, did the boys go back to their bedrooms?"

"The boys all fell asleep watching movies downstairs," Jason said, "They also raided the kitchen for popcorn and candy. Though the only sign of that is the full garage can in the kitchen. They did attempt to cover their tracks."

Kellie moved as if to get up from the bed, "I should."

"Hold on," Jason said, "There's nothing you have to do this morning. You are officially off Mom duty for the day."

"You know it doesn't work like that," Kellie said.

"All I'm saying is I've got the boys handled," Jason said, "Liz is going to come pick up Cameron and Aidan. Sam is on her way to pick up Danny. Olivia is going to watch Jared and Jamie while I take Jake to the Arcade and Lunch."

"Jason," Kellie said.

"Even Wonder Woman deserves a day off once in awhile," Jason said, pulling Kellie closer to him, "We both know you won't win this argument. You never do."

"Okay, okay," Kellie said, "I will try to relax today."

"There is something I want ask you about," Jason said.

"What is it?" Kellie asked.

"It's about Danny and his living arrangements," Jason said, "From what I can tell he spends a lot of time at the Quartermaines. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should consider having him stay here at least for the time being. Jamie and Jared asked me if the foundation could investigate Shiloh so Sam wouldn't have to."

"Which means Danny said something to them about her being gone all the time," Kellie said,  
Of course I'll support you and what's best for Danny."

"I'll talk to Sam this morning when she picks up Danny," Jason said, "I'll let her know about last night and the investigation into the foundation and Shiloh. Hopefully, she'll let us takeover and…. I hate the idea of separating Danny from Scout."

"I know," Kellie said, "I don't like it either. I'd also suggest that you give Danny a choice for now if it comes to that. Let him decide if he wants things to continue as they are now so he can be with Scout or give him the option to stay here. If he wants to stay at the Quartermaines, you'll need to spend more time there. If you frame it as a choice, it might help him settle down overall."

"Otherwise, he'll feel like it's one more thing he's not being asked his opinion about," Jason said, "And that's some of his problem."

"You can always revisit the living arrangement later if giving him a choice doesn't work," Kellie said.


	67. Chapter 67

**Author's Note: Talk about a scene I didn't see coming. This one was not even on my radar, not even remotely. For context without spoiling too much, this scene is meant to be Sam's wake-up call and resolve her role in investigating Shiloh (though it doesn't seem like she's responding that way at first). The next chapter will clear that up as well as feature the requested Jason/Jake only scene. **

Jason opened the door and let Sam inside the house.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked.

"We need to talk," Jason said, indicating for Sam to follow him into the study.

"I don't have a lot of time," Sam said, "I'm supposed to meet Kristina at Dawn of Day for a class."

"That's part of what we need to talk about," Jason said, "I know you want to help Kristina, but it's affecting Danny on top of everything else he's been struggling with."

"What happened?" Sam asked, following Jason into the study. Jason shut the door.

"Danny made it very clear he has no interest in doing anything with me" Jason said, "He took it out on Jake, forcing him to choose between hanging out with him or me. Then he ran off to hang out with Cameron and Trina. Cameron got into to it with Danny over his treatment of Jake and somehow ended up getting Danny to come here. Danny ignored Jake at the campfire before he, Jake, and the twins ended up in a fight and throwing punches at each other."

"Who started the fight?" Sam asked.

"The boys aren't telling who started it," Jason said, "It's better this morning, but only because Cameron snuck all the boys out of bed to broker a truce. The boys don't know Kellie and I know they snuck out of their rooms."

"This sounds like more of Danny having a problem with you," Sam said.

"Except for the conversation I had with Danny while he was in time out," Jason said, "Aside from not wanting to get close to Jake or I because he's afraid of losing us again, Danny doesn't feel like he has any sort of stable family life."

"He said that?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jason said, "Jamie and Jared also asked me about having the foundation investigate Shiloh so you wouldn't have to. So Danny said something to them."

"I can't abandon Kristina, especially if this Shiloh is that sleazy," Sam said, "It's not like Kellie's turned up anything in her investigation on Shiloh."

"Actually, Kellie's investigation turned up possible fraud at the foundation," Jason said, "Included several sizable checks to Dawn of Day, the PCPD and several forensic accounts are looking into it.

"But Dawn of Day is definitely outside of the foundation's wheelhouse," Sam said.

"There's interstate wire transfers so the FBI is getting involved," Jason said.

"But there's no proof yet of actual fraud yet," Sam asked.

"Not yet," Jason said, "The forensic accountants had to put together what they could for the PCPD quickly when Kellie and I were brought in for questioning about the murder of one of the foundation employees. The employee also received payments from the foundation and admitted to Curtis and Mac he'd lied to get Kellie fired right before he was killed."

"And Shiloh could still con his way out of facing charges," Sam said, "He could say he thought the checks were a donation and he had no way of knowing the payments were authorized."

"Let the FBI sort it out," Jason said, "The executive director and his sister who works for Sec Nav were also getting checks."

"Sec Nav?" Sam replied, "Why does that sound familiar?"

"They have a connection to NCIS who was investigating Garrett," Jason said, "Someone from Sec Nav also told NCIS not to investigate Shiloh and Garrett's ties to each other."

"If it's this sister, what are the odds she'd turn on Shiloh or Garrett if they're involved in whole scheme," Sam asked.

"It's anyone's guess at the point," Jason said.

"I feel like I'd still keep doing what I'm doing with Kristina," Sam said, "Who knows maybe I'll run across something the cops can use."

"And what about Danny?" Jason said, "You were his main constant through most of his life and he doesn't even feel like he has that."

"This is just temporary," Sam said, "I'll make sure to talk to Danny about why I'm gone so much right now."

"Sam, he needs stability," Jason said, "How often does he get dropped off at the Quartermaines."

"He doesn't want to come here," Sam said, "So where else would he go?"

"Maybe we should ask Danny where he wants to stay," Jason said, "Especially if this does take awhile."

"Are you talking about going after custody of Danny?" Sam asked, "Because that's not going to happen."

"Sam, what I'm suggesting is giving Danny a choice about where he wants to spend his time, here or the Quartermaines," Jason said, "Unless you want to back off Shiloh. It might him feel like he has choice about something."

"You said Cameron brokered a truce," Sam said, "And it seems to be working. Who's to say that the problem's solved."

"Danny's behavior hasn't been improving," Jason said, "Even if he doesn't take out his feelings on the other kids, who knows what he'll come up with next if we don't try something else. His problem is with us and the lack of support he feels like he has from both of us. Do you have another idea?"

"Leave things as they are and see if Cameron's truce worked," Sam said as Olivia opened the door to the study.

"You might want to keep your voice down," Olivia said, "Because I can hear you both out there. Thank god the boys are still in the backyard."

"That's the last thing I wanted," Jason said, "Would you mind making sure the boys stay occupied in the backyard until Sam and I are finished?"

"We're finished," Sam said, "I'm late to meet Kristina."

"Cancel. I'm sure Kristina will understand that Danny needs his mom," Olivia said.

"It's not that simple, Olivia," Sam said.

"It is that simple," Olivia said, keeping her voice low, "You're choosing between your son and your sister. I don't know what mess you think your sister has gotten herself into that she needs saving. But Kristina is a grown up. You need to let her take care of her own mess and focus on Danny. As it is Danny and Scout see a lot more of the Quartermaines than they do you. While we adore those kids, that's no substitute for a mom."

"Olivia, that's enough," Jason said.

"I know, I stuck my nose where it really doesn't belong," Olivia said, "But somebody had to say it. I'll go check on the boys. Where's Kellie?"

"Upstairs," Jason said, "She slept in this morning."

Olivia exited quietly, shutting the door.

"That was harsh," Sam said

"Olivia isn't one to hold back her opinions," Jason said.

"It's none of her business," Sam said, "I've told you and Drew this thing with Kristina and Shiloh is only temporary."

"And it's gone on longer than anyone expected," Jason said, "And impacted Danny and Scout more than we would have thought."

"Well if the police and FBI can prove Shiloh was in on the fraud," Sam said, "This is all over then and things they go back to the way they were."

"Sam, I'm not asking your permission to ask Danny what he wants to do about his living situation," Jason said, "If he wants to stay at the Quartermaines then I"ll let it go provided he behaves. But if he can't, then I think we should discuss his living arrangements further and having him spend more time here."

"So then he gets to live life under an army of guards," Sam said, "And be more likely to get hurt if someone goes after you or Kellie. Drew and I wanted out of Sonny's business so the kids would be safer. I think having him stay with you could defeat the purpose of that."

"Sam, you know I'd everything possible to keep Danny safe," Jason said, "How many times has Danny snuck out, putting himself in danger. We can't ignore the fact that Danny's emotional well being has be considered too."

"This conversation is over," Sam said, "I'm getting Danny and leaving."

Sam left the room without giving Jason a chance to respond.

She marched to the backyard not even realizing she'd passed Kellie in the kitchen. Jason had followed Sam as far as the Kitchen. Sam opened the backdoor and yelled for Danny.

"So guess you'll be dropping me off at Grandma Monica's," Danny said to Sam, his attitude picking back up.

"I'm meeting Kristina," Sam said, "So yeah."

"Whatever," Danny said.

"Not whatever," Sam said, "I won't tolerate…"

"I'll go get my stuff," Danny said, brushing past her, "I'll see you in the car."

"Sam, " Kellie started to say, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"I can't right now," Sam said, "I'll wait for Danny out front."

Sam left Jason and Kellie and let herself out the front. While waiting for Danny, Sam saw she had missed messages from Kristina and Shiloh, asking her if she want to attend a later session with Shiloh or schedule something a private session with Shiloh.

Sam lightly banged her head against the wooden beam pole in frustration, trying to figure out what to do. Danny slammed the door open and shut, running out to the car, ignoring Sam. Sam watched as Danny got in the back seat before texting Kristina, "Kristina, something's come up. I won't be making it today."

Sam made her way to the car and got in the driver's seat.

"You know what," Sam said, "It's been awhile since you and I have spent any time together just the two of us. What do you say we go see a movie and….

"I have homework to do," Danny said.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Yes, now can we just go," Danny said.

"Okay," Sam said.


	68. Chapter 68

Sam took Danny back to the penthouse.

"We're not going to Quartermaines?" Danny asked as they entered the parking garage.

"You said you had homework," Sam said, "I figured this would be less distracting so you could focus. We could have pizza delivered and still spend some time together."

"I'll pass," Danny said.

"If you change your mind," Sam said.

"I won't," Danny said.

Once upstairs, Danny ran upstairs to his room and shut the door. Sam called in a pizza delivery and collapsed on the couch.

Drew stopped by to pick up a few items and found Sam in tears on the couch.

"Hey, I thought you were picking up Danny," Drew said, "What's going on?"

"Danny's upstairs," Sam said, "Supposedly doing his homework."

"What happened?" Drew asked.

"Jason is talking about changing the custody agreement with Danny," Sam said, "He thinks maybe Danny should stay more with him all because I'm trying to help Kristina. Then Olivia stuck her two cents into it."

"Wow, I can't say I blame him especially after yesterday," Drew said, "Though I am surprised Jason would actually go there."

"What do you know about yesterday?" Sam asked.

"I took Oscar over to the campfire," Drew said, "Danny ignored Jake the entire time. Jared and Jamie confronted Danny about it from what I could tell and a fight broke out."

"So Danny and the twins get in a fight," Sam said, "And now Jason wants Danny to move in with them."

"I know you probably don't want to hear this," Drew said, "But you've been so tied up with Shiloh and Kristina, you've hardly spent any time with the kids. Though I can't imagine Jason would just decide to go for custody."

"He said was considering it if Danny's behavior didn't improve," Sam said, "and he wants to give Danny a choice about staying with at the Quartermaines as long I'm still trying to help Kristina."

"Kellie mentioned Shiloh was being looked at in connection to a fraud investigation with the foundation," Drew said, "Did she or Jason talk to you about that?"

"Yeah, but no one knows if anything can be proven," Sam said.

"Proven yet," Drew said, "Your cousin does have a pretty good track record with finding all the dirt on someone. She did hold up her end of the bargain to find stuff on Shiloh which means you can back off."

"I know, Drew," Sam said, "I want to say that I'm done and get back to normal. It's just Garrett kept slipping through the cops and Kellie's plans for so long that I'm worried this will be more of the same. I don't want to leave anything chance."

"Garrett is currently in prison," Drew said, "So I'd say his luck ran out. If Kellie is saying fraud happened at the foundation and is bringing it to the cops, I'd say there is a good chance Shiloh is going down if he's involved."

"If he's not," Sam asked, "Where does that leave Kristina?"

"Then you and Kellie revaluate how best to help Kristina as a team," Drew said, "In a way that doesn't keep you away from us. If I recall, the scrapes you two get into always work best when you work together."

"We do not get into scrapes," Sam said.

"You know what I mean," Drew said, "I'm worried for you and the kids if you keep getting in deep with Shiloh. Shiloh is tied to some pretty nasty people. What's to say he won't try to use the kids to get at you if he finds outs you're double crossing him? As much as he says he's over you cleaning his father out….."

"Now I just feel worse," Sam said, "I yelled at Jason for putting Danny in more danger if Danny were to live with him."

"As much as we don't want to admit this," Drew said, "if someone wants to go after Danny to get at Jason, they'll do it regardless of who he lives with. The important thing is making sure Danny feels like he is loved and knows he has family he can turn to. I don't think what we've been doing has been giving Danny that."

"I feel like I'm letting Kristina down," Sam said, "I wanted to believe I could help her and be there for the kids."

"The way Shiloh's played his con is to require you to abandon your kids whenever he says jump," Drew said, wrapping his arms around Sam, "By stepping back, you're not letting Kristina down. You're finding a different tactic and taking back control from Shiloh. Right now he's had all the control."

"I never thought of it that way," Sam said, "Damn he's good. Maybe I am too close to this to be able to do this effectively or out of practice. I thought because I could stay one step ahead of Shiloh and get Kristina to see who he really is."

"She will," Drew said, "It's just going to take time. In the meantime, I'd really like to see my wife again everyday."

"I'd really like that too," Sam said.

"So we're agreed," Drew said, "No more deep cover with Shiloh."

"I'm done," Sam said, "I can't keep putting us through this. You're right, we have to change tactics if the fraud investigation doesn't take Shiloh down.

Before Drew could kiss her, they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Can we tell them to go away?" Drew asked.

"That's probably the pizza I delivered," Sam said, "Want to have lunch with Danny and I?"

"I think I should go get that pizza," Drew said.

"Is Scout at the Quartermaines?" Sam asked as Drew got up.

"She and Alyssa were making Michael play barbies when I left," Drew said, "And putting on a show for Oscar."

**Kelly's Diner**

Jason and Jake spent time at the arcade and then went to Kelly's Diner.

"So how come everyone gets in trouble for the rest of the day but me," Jake asked.

"You didn't start the fight," Jason said, "You were just defending your brother."

"I know," Jake said, "Though I have to admit Danny did kind of deserve it."

"What makes you say that?" Jason asked.

"He doesn't want to spend time with us," Jake said, "I don't get it. He's just mean about it."

"I'm sorry that last night and yesterday didn't turn out the way you hoped," Jason said, "For right now unless Danny can play nice, maybe our visits should be just the two of us for awhile."

"Can you make Danny behave?" Jake asked, "Especially if he might have agreed to be nicer?"

"When would he have agreed to something like that?" Jason asked.

"I'm not saying he did," Jake replied, "But he could agree to something like that."

"I think I'd need to see his behavior improve first," Jason said, "I know you want every one to get along and maybe someday we'll get there."

"I hope so," Jake said, "Do you know what color the baby's room is going to be?"

"Not yet," Jason said.

"I was trying to decide what colors to I might want to paint with," Jake said, "For the picture for my new sister."

"I think you should just paint whatever you want," Jason said, "I'm sure it will be fine no matter what we decide to do with the nursery."

"But what if it doesn't match?" Jake asked.

"Does it have to match?" Jason said.

"I guess not," Jake replied, "Do you think Kellie will make the room pink?"

"I don't think Kellie would use an abundance of pink in the room," Jason said.

"But Alyssa's room has a lot of pink," Jake said.

"Because that is Alyssa's favorite color," Jason said.

"What room will the baby live in?" Jake asked.

"We haven't decided yet," Jason said.

"I think she should have the room with the built in shelves," Jake said, "It gets a lot of sunlight and has the window seat."

"I will talk to Kellie about it," Jason said.

"Tell her I have an idea about what to paint for her in that room," Jake said.

"Okay," Jason said, noticing Jake was talking more than he was eating.

"Promise?" Jake asked.

"I promise we will talk about the new baby's room being the one you suggested," Jason said, grabbing one of Jake's fries, "Are you going to finish these?"

"You still haven't finished your fries, Dad," Jake said, grabbing his fry back.

"Just checking," Jason said, "How's school?"

"It's school, Dad," Jake said, "You're still coming to my ball game next week right?"

"I'll be there," Jason said.

"Good," Jake said, "I volunteered you to bring snacks for the team."

"Okay," Jason said, making a note to ask Kellie what that involved later, "What kind of snacks?"

"Juice boxes and something healthy," Jake said.

"I'll take care of that," Jason said.

Jake and Jason finished their meal before Jason took Jake home. Jason walked with Jake to the door where Liz was waiting for them.

Jake excitedly rush to meet his mom, "I'm getting a baby sister."

"That's exciting," Liz said, "Did you have fun with your Dad?"

"It was more fun when Danny went home," Jake said, "But maybe he'll be nicer now that…"

Jake stopped as Cameron gave him a look from inside.

"Now that he knows he's getting a baby sister," Jake covered.

Liz wasn't so sure that was what Jake meant to say, but before she could ask Jake kept talking, "I'm going to go paint a picture for the baby's room. Thanks for the campfire and arcade, Dad. Don't forget juice boxes and snacks for the game next week."

Jake ran into the house like a whirlwind. Liz stepped outside the house with Jason and shut the door.

"Maybe Danny will be nicer now that what," Liz asked, "I really doubt finding out the baby's a girl is the reason Danny would be nicer."

"Sometime in the middle of the night when the boys were supposed be asleep, Cameron negotiated some sort of truce between all the boys," Jason said, "One we're not supposed to know about."

"Except Jake has a hard time keeping secrets," Liz laughed, "Is the truce working?"

"I think so," Jason said, "All I know is Danny toned down the attitude."

"Fingers crossed," Liz said, "I know Jake's been disappointed that Danny has been distant among other things."

"He's afraid of getting close to me or Jake because he's already lost both of us once thinking we were dead," Jason said.

"That's why he's taking out his issues on Jake," Liz said.

"It's not an excuse," Jason said, "But I thought you should know."

"I appreciate it," Liz said, "Did I hear Jake tell you to bring snacks for his game next week?"

"He apparently volunteered me for that," Jason said.

"I can take of that if…" Liz said.

"I'll do it," Jason said, "I want to especially since it's important to him."

"Well I'm glad Jake had a good time after such rough start to yesterday," Liz said, " but I have a shift to get ready for."

"I won't keep you then," Jason said, "Thanks for letting Jake stay last night and today."

"Of course," Liz said, "I'm really glad that you and Jake have been able to spend time together."

Later back at house, Jason found Olivia had taken the boys to the Quartermaines to do additional chores under Alice's watchful eye. Kellie was standing in the bedroom Jake had suggested for the baby's room.

"How was the spa?" Jason asked.

"Just what I needed," Kellie said, "until Carly ambushed me."

"Shopping?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "Hazard of using the spa at her hotel."

"If you look it at this way," Jason said, "Carly will stop asking you to go shopping."

"I know," Kellie said, "I'm just not a huge fan of shopping. How was your day with Jake?"

"Fun," Jason said, "He beat me at air hockey."

"I'm sure he enjoyed that," Kellie said.

"What exactly are you doing in this room?" Jason asked.

"I was looking at this room and the guest room thinking about which one to use as our daughter's room," Kellie said, "Or if she and Alyssa should bunk together, but I have a feeling that wouldn't be a peaceful coexistence."

"Jake already told me she should have this one," Jason said, "He even has an idea for what to paint for her based off this room."

"I guess that settles it then," Kellie said.

"The guest room is all the way downstairs," Jason said.

"I thought this house was overkill in terms of its size when I bought it" Kellie said.

"It was the best option available with regards to security compared to some of the other houses," Jason said.

"And now we are using almost every bedroom and bonus room available," Kellie said, "I never thought I'd have use for a house the size of small mansion. And Sam called me. She's backing off Shiloh. I don't exactly why, but I think Drew had something to do with it and they are done with the fake separation."

"That's good," Jason said, "So what colors are you thinking about for our daughter's room?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Jason Morgan?" Kellie asked.

"Jake was asking," Jason replied.

"No idea yet," Kellie said, "Maybe we should see what Jake paints and base the colors on that."

Jason moved closer to Kellie, "I bet he'd really like that."

"And what exactly do you have in mind now, Boy Toy?" Kellie asked.

"I'd really hoped you'd forgotten that nickname," Jason said.

"No chance," Kellie said before Jason kissed her.

"What time will the kids be home?" Jason asked.

"Sometime after dinner," Kellie said, "And if I recall, I do owe you a game of strip pool since you hijacked my plans for that last time."

"I won if you recall," Jason said.

"You didn't even know I was planning that," Kellie said, stepping away from Jason and moving quickly towards the door, "First one to the pool table breaks first."

Jason chased Kellie down the hall and managed to block her by their bedroom door.

"What are you doing?" Kellie started asked before Jason started kissing her again.

"I'm winning at Strip Pool," Jason said, between kisses.

"We haven't even started," Kellie said, breathlessly. The next thing Kellie knew she and Jason were in the bedroom taking each others clothes off.


	69. Chapter 69

**Author's Note: Hope everyone's safe and well. Just as an FYI since I took creative soap liberties with Lorenzo's recovery, there will be no ill effects for Lorenzo from his miracle treatment. I really just needed a way to help the Lorenzo/Alexis Arc move along. I should get the next chapter up sooner since it was something I'd actually written awhile back based on the show. I just need to tweak it a little. ****Have a wonderful weekend!**

Awhile later, Kellie was curled up against Jason.

"So I was thinking maybe we could take that trip we talked about in the next couple weeks," Jason said, "The kids are as settled as they're going to be for the moment, the cops are investigating Shiloh and the people at the foundation, and I don't have any business here that has to be done."

"You're saying we should take that trip now before something else happens," Kellie said, tracing her fingers along Jason's chest.

"You said it, I didn't," Jason replied.

"You implied it," Kellie said.

"Says the woman who lost at strip pool twice now," Jason said.

"You do not get to count those as wins," Kellie said, "Not when we hadn't even started the game. I'm starting to think you're afraid to play strip pool with me."

Jason tried to distract her with a kiss. Kellie moved, not letting him.

"No, admit it you're afraid to play strip pool with me," Kellie said, "I can't blame you. Considering you can't concentrate and miss a lot of shots."

"You cheat," Jason said, "and get in the way of my shots."

"Like you don't do the same thing," Kellie said.

"I still won," Jason said, "Your clothes came off first."

"You need to rethink your definition of winning," Kellie said, "I mean if you're conceding at strip pool before we even get started, I'd say you've forfeited and I win."

"Or we could call it a tie," Jason replied, pushing Kellie's hair back out of her face and tracing his fingers down her cheek.

"You just don't want to admit defeat," Kellie said, grabbing Jason's hand and moving it away from her.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked.

"Stopping you from distracting me from the conversation," Kellie said.

"I can't help it if you're easily distracted," Jason said, pulling the covers back over both of them.

**The Rehab Center**

Meanwhile, Alexis came storming into Lorenzo's room, "This has better be good. How dare you demand I just drop everything…"

"Alexis," Lorenzo said from the bed, clear as day, no stuttering or difficulty. Alexis stopped ranting surprised.

Alexis studied Lorenzo, noticing his weak side looked stronger and the slouch that defined it was gone.

"What happened to you?" Alexis said, "There is no way rehab would work this fast on you."

"There were some new treatments available," Lorenzo said.

Before Lorenzo could say anymore, Alexis marched over to the bedside and went to slap Lorenzo. He managed to block her hand, though not easily.

"You insufferable man," Alexis said, "After seeing the treatments your father took from Helena and what they did to him, how could you be so incredibly selfish?"

"One, Helena was probably trying to kill my father," Lorenzo said, "when she gave him those treatments. Two, these treatments are ones Robin Scorpio looked at before I agreed to under go them."

"You did this without telling your daughter or your nieces," Alexis said, "Which means it was still dangerous and risky."

"They've been preoccupied with a number of things," Lorenzo said, "Their families, husbands, kids, and whatever shenanigans they generally get themselves into."

"Their shenanigans are something else right now," Alexis muttered, "But that doesn't excuse your shenanigans."

"I'm not 100% obviously," Lorenzo said, "But I might be able to help keep those to a dull roar, particularly the ones involving the foundation."

"That doesn't solve the problem that Kristina's in a cult and refuses to speak to anyone that questions her involvement," Alexis said, "And Sam is up to her neck trying to save her at the expense of her marriage and kids. And Danny is getting on my last nerve. I get he isn't warming up to Jason, but the running away and his behavior towards the other kids is….

"Breathe," Lorenzo said, "Before you pass out…"

"You think this is funny?" Alexis replied, "All while you call and drop a bomb on me you underwent some experimental treatment to speed up your rehab. Why did you call me anyway?"

"I thought maybe the woman who admitted she needed me might want to know first," Lorenzo said.

Alexis's eyes went wide, realizing he'd heard and remembered her admission in the recovery room when he wouldn't wake up from surgery after getting shot in the head.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Alexis tried to recover.

"Your facial expression says otherwise, counselor," Lorenzo said, "Dammit, Alexis…"

"What do you want?" Alexis interrupted, "Except for us to try again."

Lorenzo contemplated his next words carefully, "I need help. I can be released for out-patient rehab, but only if the doctors are satisfied I won't be completely on my own. I don't want to impose on any of the girls. Considering Sam and Kellie are going through some pretty major things right now. Sage and I would kill each other if we lived together…."

"Hire someone," Alexis said.

"Do you really think the girls will go for that?" Lorenzo asked.

"No," Alexis groaned, "And no….I know exactly what you're thinking. I don't have time for the challenge your recovery will require on my part."

"I thought you weren't afraid of a challenge," Lorenzo said, "Or are you afraid I'll convince you to give us another chance? If you're as immune to my charms as you think are, you have nothing to worry about. In couple months, I'll be out of your way."

"For good," Alexis impulsively replied, "If I do this for you, I don't want you to ever ask me about another shot again."

"I won't be living in Port Charles," Lorenzo said, "It won't be a problem."

"When are the doctors willing to discharge you?" Alexis asked.

"Tomorrow," Lorenzo said, "Is that enough time?"

"Sure," Alexis said, "You should still hire a nurse to check on things with you. I'm not a medical professional. Call me with a time. I need to go."

Alexis left the room before Lorenzo could respond. Outside the room, Alexis leaned against the wall wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo laid back on the bed satisfied Alexis had agreed to help him. Now he just had to figure out how to change her mind about being with him.

**Kellie and Jason's House**

"How much time do we have before the kids come home?" Kellie asked, collapsed against Jason.

"They're probably getting ready to leave the Quartermaines soon," Jason replied.

"Does it make a me a bad mom that I'm seriously considering asking your mom and Olivia if they could stay the night?" Kellie asked, "I'm sorry. I love them, but last night was…."

"It was rough," Jason said, "You handled it without any warning. I can call and see if they can so."

"Jason, no," Kellie said, "I don't want to impose on your mom and Olivia any more than I already do. Especially with Oscar and everything he's going through."

"When's the last time they stayed over at the Quartermaines," Jason asked, "Like overnight. And Alyssa last night doesn't count."

"Last week," Kellie said, "No, Charles took them, maybe the week before. It's a blur Jason."

"I'm just saying if Monica and Olivia want to keep the kids," Jason said, "We could let them…"

They interrupted by a knock at the bedroom door.

"Jason, Kellie," Johnny said, through the door, "Olivia called, the kids aren't ready to leave. Something about acting out a play for Oscar. She said they could spend the night. Neither one of you were answering your phone, so…."

"It's fine," Jason replied, quickly before Kellie could answer or possibly protest.

"Thanks," Johnny said, "I'll be patrolling the grounds." Johnny quickly left.

"Jason," Kellie said.

"Problem-solved," Jason said, "You want a night off from the kids and the kids obviously want to stay the night."

"Okay, okay," Kellie said, "But back to trip we've been discussing. Are you sure you want to go now? With Oscar….dying…"

Kellie's voiced cracked, "I know you mentioned he asked you to be the executor of his estate and… if you wanted to wait until after.."

"Except we don't know exactly when that's going to be," Jason said, "And Oscar made it very clear he doesn't want the rest of completely stopping out lives because of this."

"But waiting to take a trip," Kellie said, "Isn't a big deal."

"Oscar overheard me talking to Ned at the house," Jason said, "He'll be more upset if he thinks we didn't go and he wants pictures from California if that's where we go….are you okay?"

"It's just umm…" Kellie said, "seeing Oscar last night. It's not exactly the same as Tyler, but…"

"Some of the changes in him remind you of watching Tyler go through his illness," Jason said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Kellie said.

"Don't be," Jason said, pulling Kellie tight against him, wrapping his arms around her, "What you went through with Tyler was hard. I wouldn't expect watching Oscar go through this would be easy for you."

"He's so young," Kellie said, "I thought I Tyler was young to, but Oscar isn't even out of high school. It's not fair."

"No it's not," Jason said, "That's why we'll do everything we can to help, including go on our trip and send him pictures."

"That sounds good," Kellie said, "I still remember the first time I met him."

"In California?" Jason asked, "You and Kim met there because she volunteers for the foundation, right?"

"Yeah," Kellie said, "Tyler had to go to court and I couldn't get a sitter for the kids at this day where we're getting supplies and services for some girls the were working with. Oscar had his nose stuck in a book while I was trying to get a two year old and two five year olds settled down. Alyssa kept trying to wander around. The next thing I knew, Oscar had Alyssa on his lap reading to her and drawing with her. Told me who he was and who is Mom was…"

"That sounds like Oscar," Jason said, "You know he wants to use his ELQ stock to fund trips for kids to Kilmanjaro."

"No, but that doesn't surprise me," Kellie said.

Jason and Kellie sat in silence after that for a few moments.

"So what do you want to do with the rest of the night?" Jason asked.

"The baby's craving pizza tonight," Kellie said.

"Just the baby?" Jason asked.

"Stuffed-crust," Kellie replied, "Extra cheese and extra mushrooms. You can order whatever you want."

"You don't plan to share?" Jason asked.

"Nope, because I want all the left overs," Kellie said, "Which means I'll have put them in the garage freezer to hide them from the kids. I will make it worth your while."

"Really?" Jason replied, "How?"

"Order the pizza and you'll find out," Kellie replied.


	70. Chapter 70

**Author's Note: So Oscar's story line on the show, since I know there's one reviewer who isn't familiar with it and I'm making reference to it in this story. So Oscar (Drew & Kim's teenage son) had a brain tumor and passes away from it on the show. I'm not changing that for the purposes of this story. I had considered having Oscar not die from his tumor in this story. But when GH aired the episodes with his death and had Edward and Lila meet Oscar to crossover, I couldn't bring myself to undo that in this story. But given that Kellie's first husband died of Leukemia (in When It All Falls Apart), I found I couldn't help writing a couple chapters where we see how she and Charles react and fit into this storyline. In fact, I actually wrote most of this chapter following those episodes and held on to it to see how it would fit into the story. I did have to tweak it because it was originally written with the idea in mind that Sam was still knee deep in Dawn of Day. In tweaking this I found some things I wanted to keep that can only happen if she's not at the Quartermaines for this. I think I've worked it out that her reason for not being there is a matter of timing in regards to a breakthrough with Kristina. **

**This is moving ahead about a month. So Kellie's five months pregnant at this point. I'll likely be employing some time jumps forward and explanations with those scenes to fill in gaps specific with Alexis/Lorenzo and progress on the fraud investigation. **

**One Month Later **

Kellie picked up her phone when she saw Jason calling.

"Hey," Kellie said.

Jason didn't respond back.

"Jason, what's wrong?" Kellie asked.

"It's Oscar," Jason said, "He's.… gone. I'm on my way to the mansion now."

"I'll meet you there," Kellie said.

"Are you sure?" Jason said, "You don't have to."

"Yes, I do," Kellie said, "Does Charles know since he and Monica have been seeing other?"

"I don't know," Jason said.

"I'll let him know," Kellie said, "I'll see you soon."

Kellie made arrangements with the guards to keep an eye on the kids.

"Mom, what's going on?" Jared asked.

"You remember Oscar, right" Kellie said as the kids nodded.

"He's Joss's boyfriend," Alyssa said.

"And that he's dying," Jamie said, "Just like Dad."

"Yeah, like Dad did," Kellie said, "Oscar, he…did die… just a little while ago."

"He's in heaven with Dad then," Jared said.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "Are you guys going to be okay? I'm going to go with Jason to Nana Olivia's to see if his family needs anything. I promise I'll be back in a few hours."

"We'll be fine," Jared said.

"Yeah, mom," Jamie said, "They might need someone who understands."

"He was always nice to me and Avery and Scout," Alyssa said.

"I know," Kellie said, "He's a really good kid."

Kellie pulled the boys and Alyssa in for a hug, holding them a little tighter than usual before leaving.

In the car, Kellie called Charles.

"Charles, have you heard from Monica?" Kellie asked.

"No, why?" Charles asked, hearing the catch in Kellie's voice, "No…Not Oscar. I knew it was coming, but I hoped that he'd get a miracle."

"He passed away not that long ago," Kellie said, "Jason just called me. I'm meeting him at the mansion."

"I don't think anyone would blame you if you sat this one out," Charles said.

"I think the same could be said for you," Kellie said, "I assume I'll see you there. Unless you need me to pick you up."

"I'll meet you there," Charles said.

After Kellie hung up the phone and set it aside, she moved her hands to her belly, grateful for the movement she could feel as her unborn daughter stirred inside her, safe and sound. Yet, her gratefulness was mixed with sorrow and a sense of unfairness that Kim and Drew had lost their son.

"We're here, Kellie," Johnny said, as they pulled in the driveway , "Charles must have broken more than a few speed limits."

"Are you saying he beat us here?" Kellie replied as the car came to a stop. Kellie went to open the door to find someone already opening it for her.

Once the door was open, she found Charles standing outside the door, his hand stretched out.

Kellie took his hand as he guided her out of the car.

"Do we need to start calling you Speed Demon?" Kellie asked.

Charles gave a half hearted smile in response.

The funeral home vehicle pulled into the driveway.

"Are you sure about this?" Charles asked.

"No, but we'll both go inside anyway," Kellie said, "To be there for the people we care about. To let them know they're not alone."

Kellie took Charles hand and started towards the house.

Inside the mansion, Olivia met them in the foyer. She pulled Kellie into a hug.

"Mom, I'd really like to breathe sometime soon," Kellie said, when Olivia didn't let go.

"Right and the baby needs that oxygen too," Olivia said, loosening her grip, "Sorry, I just…"

"Some of that was for Dante," Kellie said, "I wish he was here too."

Olivia stepped back, "Most everyone's in the living room."

"The funeral home pulled in after we did," Charles said, "I'll let them in. Would you let Monica know I'm here if she wants to see me?"

"Of course, she'll want to see you," Olivia said, heading back to the living room.

Kellie ran into Joss at the bottom of the stairs, coming down after saying goodbye Oscar and thanking him for finishing the song he'd written for her.

Kellie saw the next round of tears, ready to spill from Joss's eyes. Joss collapsed against Kellie. Kellie held Joss, both of them crying. Kellie didn't say anything, knowing there was nothing she could say to making losing someone you loved like that any better.

Eventually, Kellie led Joss back to the living room.

Michael came over to hug both his sisters. Meanwhile, Monica who had been leaning on Jason turned her attention to Charles who had followed the funeral home staff with the stretcher into the room.

"Charles," Monica said, "This is a surprise."

"I wish it was under better circumstances," Charles said, "I hope I'm not out of line showing up."

"No, I'm glad you're here," Monica said, taking Charles hand, "It means a lot especially knowing how difficult something like this would be for you and for Kellie."

Back in the living room, Michael, Joss, and Kellie broke apart. Jason came along side Kellie, wrapped his arm around her waist. His hand rested against Kellie's side, greeted by several slight kicks.

Jason half- smiled and kissed Kellie's forehead in response.

"Dad," Danny said, coming into the room, "What's going on? Is Oscar okay?"

Kellie stepped away from Jason who went to Danny.

"He's gone, isn't he Dad?" Danny asked, his tears falling as he collapsed against Jason.

When Kim and Drew, carrying Oscar's body, came downstairs, Jason turned Danny's face away to shield him from seeing the body. With his free hand, he gently pulled Kellie back next to him. He felt Kellie rest her head against his shoulder, her tears soaking his shirt.

After the funeral staff took Oscar's body, Danny looked up at Jason, "I want Mom. Why isn't she here?"

"I'll call her," Kellie said. Kellie went out to the back patio and called Sam. The phone went to voice mail.

"Sam, where are you?" Kellie said, as Carly joined her outside, "I know you were meeting with Kristina and we needed that break with her. Oscar passed away and Danny needs you. Just get to Monica's as soon you can."

"No answer," Carly said, "I don't understand what could be so important right now that Sam's not here for Danny and Scout and Drew. I thought she and Drew were getting back together and she was done with that Dawn of Day stuff."

"It's gotten better, but today, Kristina called her, wanting to talk," Kellie said, "I don't really know why. It sounded urgent, I thought she'd be done by now. We needed this opening with Kristina, but damn…"

"The timing sucks," Carly said.

"It doesn't change what Danny's going through right now," Kellie said, "Out of all the kids, he's probably had the most upheaval in his life."

"Why didn't Danny come stay with Jason if…" Carly asked.

"I don't think anyone thought that Sam, Kristina and Dawn of Day would go on this long, I thought we'd had Shiloh with the fraud at the foundation, but there's no proof he knew the donations weren't authorized," Kellie said, "While Danny is warming up towards Jason, he's not exactly keen on spending time at the house. I can't exactly blame him after all he's been through."

Kellie looked inside the house and saw Danny staring curiously at her. He made his way to the door as Kellie and Carly went back inside.

"Is my mom coming?" Danny asked.

"I left a message," Kellie said, "I told her to come straight here."

"I'm sure she'll be here as soon as she can," Carly said.

Danny looked crestfallen and then ran out of the room.

Drew looked at Kellie, confused, having seen Danny bolt.

Kellie mouthed, "He wants his mom," and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll go check on him," Ned said, seeing Josslyn sobbing on Jason's shoulder. He went after him.

"I should get Josslyn home," Carly said.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Kellie said.

After Carly had taken Josslyn home, Jason went upstairs and found Danny defiantly telling Ned to go away and that he didn't need anyone.

"That's enough," Jason said, "Ned came up here to see if you were okay. I know you're hurting, but that's not an excuse to be rude to the people that care about you."

"Tell that to Mom," Danny said.

Ned moved out of the room, letting Jason sit next to Danny.

"When your mom gets Kellie's message and realizes how much you need her," Jason said, "She'll be here. In the meantime, can it be enough that I'm here?"

Danny didn't answer. He struggled wanting to push Jason away. But his emotions won out.

"Oscar was my friend, Dad," Danny said, sobbing against Jason.


	71. Chapter 71

**Author's Note: Sorry, it took longer than I thought to get the next chapter up between a few other projects and a case of writer's block. Hope you are all safe and well. **

Downstairs, Kellie stepped out into the foyer to try reaching Sam again.

"If you're trying to reach Sam, I already left her a message too," Drew said, "Kristina was really upset earlier when she called Sam. We agreed that she needed to go in the middle of all this, we didn't expect Oscar to….we did but."

"But you don't," Kellie said as Kim joined them, "You still hope for longer or a miracle even when you know the end's coming. I'm sorry about Oscar for both of you. I know nothing I could say right now could make you feel better."

"Hey, you showed up," Kim said, embracing Kellie, "And that means a lot, especially after what happened with Tyler."

"I remember the first time I met Oscar," Kellie said, "You'd just started volunteering with the foundation and for some reason I had to bring the kids with me to an event. I thought I was going to have to work and watch the kids like hawks. He kept them perfectly entertained while you and I did what we needed to do."

"Pirates and Ninjas wasn't it," Kim said as Kellie yawned, "And you should go home and get some rest. Doctor's orders."

"I'll just let Jason know I'm going home," Kellie said, heading towards the stairs.

Kellie stood in the door way, watching Jason and Danny silently.

Jason looked up, sensing Kellie's presence.

"I'm going to head home unless you need anything," Kellie whispered.

"I'll be home as soon as I can," Jason said.

"Take your time," Kellie said, turning to leave.

"Kellie," Danny said. Kellie stopped and turned back around.

Kellie waited for Danny to continue. He didn't speak, but Kellie didn't feel it was right for her to leave.

"What is it?" Jason asked Danny as Kellie stepped further into the room.

"I don't know," Danny said, "Can you not leave just yet?"

"If you'd like me to stay I can," Kellie said.

"Even though I haven't exactly been nice to you," Danny said.

Kellie moved, standing next to the bed.

"We're family. Have been since the first time I met you," Kellie said, "I'm always going to be there for my family and that includes you. The other stuff doesn't change that."

Danny looked relieved.

Kellie sat on the bed next to Danny and Jason.

"Danny, I don't know how to help you if you don't tell me what you need," Kellie said, "Do you just need a hug?"

Danny nodded. Kellie hugged him.

Kellie glanced up at Jason as she let Danny stay glued to her side as long he wanted.

"Thank you," Jason mouthed.

"I should let you go home," Danny said, finally sitting up "So you and my baby sister can get some rest."

Kellie looked back and forth between Danny and Jason.

"He is right," Jason said.

"You didn't forget to take your medication so you don't feel sick, did you?" Danny asked.

"No, I did not," Kellie replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at both Danny and Jason.

Kellie's phone buzzed. She took it out and read the text.

"Your mom will be here as soon as she can," Kellie said, "She's still with Kristina."

"I thought Mom was done with Dawn of Doofus," Danny groaned, upset.

"I think Kristina's getting out," Kellie said, "I'm not sure what's going on, but she's waiting for Sonny and Alexis to come be with Kristina."

"Is Aunt Krissy okay?" Danny asked.

"I hope so," Kellie said.

"But Mom'll still be awhile," Danny said.

"I have no idea," Kellie said, "Drew said Kristina sounded pretty distraught when she called Sam earlier today."

"Can I come spend the night in my room at your house?" Danny blurted out, "Forget I asked that I don't want to leave Scout."

"If you want to come spend the night, you can do that," Jason said, "Whatever you want to do."

"I don't know what I want to do," Danny said.

"I bet Scout is probably fast asleep," Kellie said, "And she is probably out like a light. I think it's really admirable that you want to take care of your sister, but you also need to take care of yourself."

"We can always bring you back in the morning to see Scout," Jason said.

"Or see if we can watch her at our place for bit," Kellie said, "But if she's asleep I don't want to wake her up."

"She's still asleep," Olivia said having overheard some of the conversation, "Kellie's right you need to do what's best for you right now. It's going to be pretty busy for awhile here tonight and probably hard to go to sleep. I promise to take extra good care of your sister."

"Are you sure it's okay?" Danny asked.

"It's more than okay," Jason said.

"You'll let me know if Scout needs me," Danny asked.

"Of course," Olivia said.

**Alexis's house**

Alexis was flustered trying to find her keys.

"Looking for these," Lorenzo asked, leaning on his cane, and holding up her keys with his free hand.

"I'll take those," Alexis said attempting to grab them from Lorenzo. Lorenzo managed to put them in his pocket.

"In case you missed memo, I need to get to Mercy Hospital," Alexis said, "Kristina is there. Sam said she's okay, but a wreck. Sonny's on his way. And Oscar."

"You're in no condition to drive, Alexis," Lorenzo said.

"Don't you dare say I'm too upset," Alexis replied, "It's not like I can have you drive me to the hospital."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"That would be your driver," Lorenzo said.

"You can't possible have had time to call a driver and have him hear already," Alexis replied.

"The truth is Frank is one my guards," Lorenzo said, "I told them to keep a low profile."

"If I didn't need to leave this instant," Alexis started to say, grabbing her purse and leaving.

"You're welcome," Lorenzo said.

**Mercy Hospital**

Alexis and Sonny arrived at the same time. Sam met them in the waiting room.

"Why is Kristina even here in the first place?" Sonny asked, "You said she's physically fine."

"For the most part," Sam said, "She called me distressed wandering around the neighborhood outside Dawn of Day. Apparently, she was going to go through some initiation ceremony into the trust when Shiloh insisted she drink some tea to calm her anxiety. She drank some of it, but it made her feel weird. She dumped the rest of it. From what I can understand, Shiloh tattooed Kristina and then tried to have sex with her."

"If he drugged her, it's…."

"It sounds like Kristina got away before he could," Sam said, "The doctor is with her now. They are running blood tests for drugs and checking out the tattoo site."

"Oh god," Alexis said.

"I'm going to make arrangement to take Kristina to a safe house," Sonny said, "Make sure that she stays out of that freak cult. I know a therapist who specializes in this kind of thing."

"They have therapists for cult stuff?" Alexis said.

"Yes," Sonny said.

"I need to go," Sam said, "I need to go be with Danny and Scout and Drew. I've got like 3-4 phone calls from Drew and Kellie that Danny is really upset about Oscar and is asking for me."

"Of course, go," Alexis replied.

"Keep me updated," Sam said, before dashing off.

"What a night," Alexis said.

"When did you start riding in vehicles with bullet proof glass?" Sonny smirked.

"Sam's father insisted that I was too distraught to drive myself," Alexis said, "Which meant summoning his guard to drive me and that's another thing, the man apparently was keeping guards around the place without telling me."

"Why did you offer to take care of Alcazar in the first place?" Sonny asked, "Last I knew you were done with him a long time ago."

"He couldn't be by himself," Alexis said, "If you hadn't noticed our daughters already have enough on their plates without caring for man recovering from a gunshot to the brain that should have killed him."

"So he what? Guilted you into it?" Sonny asked.

"No," Alexis protested.

"You know what is doing?" Sonny said, "He's hoping you'll remember why you fell for him in the first place."

"He is not," Alexis said, "The man hasn't tried to make one move on me in the entire month he's been there. I think he's over me."

Sonny just shrugged in response, not buying that Lorenzo didn't have a plan to woo Alexis.

"What was that shrug for?" Alexis asked.

"When are you going to admit you're still in love with Alcazar?" Sonny responded.

Alexis gave Sonny an exasperated look before responding, "I'm going to go check on Kristina."

**Kellie and Jason's house**

In the parking lot of the hospital, Sam had gotten a message that Danny was going with Jason for the night. Kellie had left the Quartermaine's a few minutes ahead of Danny and Jason. She was getting of the car when Sam arrived.

"I got your message that Danny's here," Sam said when she got out of the car, "I hate that…i wasn't."

"He's not quite here yet," Kellie said, as both girls teared up, "He needed to back a bag before he and Jason left. What happened with Kristina? Drew said she sounded pretty distraught when she called you."

Sam filled Kellie in on Kristina's escape from Shiloh and Dawn of Day.

"There are a lot of things I want to say that need to happen to that bastard," Kellie said as Jason and Danny arrived, "But they are not fit for our present company."

"Mom," Danny yelled, getting out of the car and running to Sam.

Sam and Danny hugged, "Does this mean I'm going back to the Quartermaines or home or?"

"It's pretty late," Sam said, still crying, "I think that your idea to stay with your Dad tonight is a good one if that's what you still want to do. I just wanted to make sure I was here for you. I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner. I had to take Kristina to the hospital."

"What did that Freak of Day do to Aunt Krissy?" Danny asked.

"He tried to hurt, but she got away," Sam said, "She just needs to be checked out. But she's going to fine."

"You're okay with me staying the night with Dad," Danny asked.

"I'm sure," Sam said, "I'd just be going back to the Quartermaine's and I imagine it's not quiet there right now."

"No," Danny said.

"Why don't you head inside and try to get some sleep?" Sam said, hugging Danny again, "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom," Danny said, "I'm glad Aunt Krissy's okay."

Inside the house, Jason got Danny settled for the night and then found Kellie still awake in the bedroom.

"I thought you would have crashed by now," Jason said.

"I can't sleep," Kellie said, "And I wanted to ask you how you were doing without everyone else around."

Jason didn't answer as he crawled into bed with Kellie.

"I guess I really don't have an answer," Jason said, as Kellie curled up against him.

"You don't have to," Kellie said.


	72. Chapter 72

**Author's Note: **

** Moving some things forward here. If you follow the show, I'm changing a few things in the Willow Shiloh Custody Lawsuit. Shiloh doesn't prevail like he did on the show. For people not watching the show, the character of Willow gave her baby with Shiloh up for adoption. (Brad and Lucas adopted her son who died and was switched with Michael & Nell's). Willow had been trying to escape Shiloh's cult and didn't tell him about the adoption. He tried to sue for custody without proof admissible in court that she had a child or something like that. Because Willow was late to court, the judge automatically ruled in Shiloh's favor. I'm doing away with the whole Willow being late and Shiloh winning in court because it never made sense to me. **

In the weeks that followed Oscar's memorial occurred and his will was read. Shiloh tried to claim that Shiloh had left him his shares of ELQ, but Alexis had Oscar's most recent will which proved other wise. At the safe house, Kristina struggled with whether or not to press charges against Shiloh thought at Alexis's urging had filed a police report at the hospital. Michael convinced Willow to share her story of being in the cult with Shiloh with Kristina while Jason, Drew, and Curtis looked into Willow's father's death. Meanwhile, Shiloh denied knowing the money from Crossing Into Dawn was fraudulent while Calvin and Arthur turned on each other and had their lawyers continuing to file motions to the delay the trial proceedings against them. They tried to say Shiloh knew as well but had no evidence to support their claims. Garrett's trial was still pending as well.

At the Nurses Ball, Shiloh overheard Nina yelling at Willow about having a child and set out to find the child and claim custody. When Shiloh requested $30,000 to be transferred in from off-shore accounts, the transaction caught the attention of several parties.

"What the hell did you just do?" Garrett demanded to know when he called Shiloh, "My accountant just informed me that you wired $30,000 into your personal bank account from our off-shore accounts. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Securing my son's future with me," Shiloh said.

"And likely caught the attention of law enforcement since I'm sure anything hitting your bank account over $10,000 is going to get flagged and reported as possible suspicious activity," Garrett said, "If they find the off-shore bank account, they'll start connecting the dots between you, me, and all our clients. Everything we've worked for will be gone."

"Law enforcement might find the account," Shiloh said, "But the money trail is so confusing no one could follow it."

"You better hope you're right," Garrett said, "While you're on your quest for father-son bonding, when might you have time to assist me and lean on a few people to get me out of here?"

"Patience, Garrett, patience," Shiloh said, "All in good time."

Garrett unhappy with Shiloh's answer hung up and made arrangements to get in touch with his lawyer.

"You sure you want to do this," his lawyer asked when Garrett laid out his plan, "I don't have a choice. Shiloh's not doing anything but ensuring everything we worked for is going up in smoke. I'll be damned if I'll rot in prison because he and those idiots at the foundation let me take the fall."

"I will get to work on this then," his lawyer replied.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C., McGee got a call from a source at the FBI and went to report to Gibbs, "Shiloh just had $30,000 wired from offshore accounts to his personal bank accounts."

"What are you still standing here for?" Gibbs replied, "Start following the money and see if we can take the rest of their cult sex ring down."

**Willow and Chase's Apartment**

Shiloh managed to get as far as getting Willow to court while the FBI and NCIS were building a case against him. Kellie, having been asked by Michael for assistance, called in child custody lawyers she worked with to take Willow's case.

"I'm already on thin ice with Principal Schulz," Willow said, " I can teach and then make it to court."

"It's too risky," Kellie said, "Shiloh's going to do his best to put himself in the best light. Since we're dealing with a cult, I wouldn't put it past him to encourage someone to delay you somehow. All it would take is a parent wanting a few minutes of your time to discuss their student and you're late to court."

"You can't be serious," Willow said, "I won't schedule any meetings…"

"If a parent shows up unannounced," Kellie said, "They could expect you stay and hear them out because you're there."

"Kellie's right," Michael said, "It's not worth the risk."

"You're absolutely certain this is necessary, Kellie," Willow said, "It's what you'd recommend someone coming to your foundation do if they were doing with someone like Shiloh."

"Without a doubt," Kellie said, "Shiloh is a predator. I've heard you say that yourself. If there's anything I've learned about creeps like him, you have to do everything you can to prepare for the unexpected. They don't play by the rules and will bend them every which they can. We may not be able to prepare for everything, but we should take the precautions we can. Give him less to work with."

"It just seems so unfair," Willow said, "That Shiloh with his sleazy…. Ugh. The cops can't seem to tie him to any of Garrett's stuff and Kristina's case, my mother copped to drugging the tea. I'm worried we can't get him. He'll slime his way out of it."

"You have the best family court lawyers in the country," Michael said, "And Chase and a whole bunch of people helping you."

"Besides if he tries to slime his way out whatever he has coming to him," Kellie said, "I'm pretty sure we just have to dig into his past more. Something is bound to come up. They're never that good. Or he'll get cocky and screw up. Unfortunately sometimes it takes more time than we'd like."

"I hope your right," Willow said, "Forgive me for asking, but I get the feeling you might be speaking from personal experience. I mean I saw the Garrett thing all over the news and he took Alyssa from the school…."

"Michael, would you give Willow and I a moment?" Kellie asked.

"Are you sure?" Michael asked, "It's just I know that…"

"I'm sure," Kellie said, "As grown up as you are, Michael, there are parts of my life, I'd prefer to shield you from."

"I'll be right outside if you need me," Michael said, "Either of you."

"Forget I asked," Willow said as .

Kellie didn't replied right away.

"I…I had a Shiloh, but his name was Ethan," Kellie said, "I was eighteen. He was every bit as obsessed with me as it sounds like Shiloh is with you. Like Shiloh, he seemed to wriggle his way out of everything even kidnapping and assaulting me. I was afraid he would hurt my fiancee. Like you, I ran away, hoping I would be able to escape. I actually faked my death to do it."

"Did it work?" Willow asked.

"For a while," Kellie said, "But Ethan didn't buy it and had too many connections. He found me and chased me all over the country."

"Wait, where was Sonny during all of this?" Willow asked, "I'm surprised he wouldn't have protected you somehow."

"Sonny didn't know I existed," Kellie said, "I'd only found out Sonny was my father a couple years before. By that time, I'd already hated him for leaving me to the foster system and my mother. I wanted nothing to do with the allegations of organized crime. Ethan was bad enough."

"So what happened with Ethan," Willow asked.

"He cornered me here in Port Charles," Kellie said, "Somehow he found out Sonny was my father. He thought he'd make some sort of deal to operate in Port Charles and for me. He died in a police bust, shot by the private investigator he blackmailed to keep tabs on me."

"Why do I get the feeling there's more to that story?" Willow asked.

"I may have fed the PCPD everything they needed to arrest him and arranged it so they'd overhear him trying to convince my father to let him move drugs through Port Charles," Kellie replied.

"I was not expecting that," Willow said, surprised at Kellie's involvement in taking Ethan down, "I mean it's just you're known as the the executive director of a charitable organization and…"

"I'm willing to do the dirty work," Kellie said, "Truth be told I enjoy that more than the meetings and the fundraisers."

"I'm not sure why but that makes me feel better," Willow said, "And that you made it to the other side of dealing with your creep."

"We're going to get you through this," Kellie said, "You are not in this alone. Unlike me, you are asking for help. I didn't ask for help when I should have. I shut out my fiancee and father-in-law. I was too stubborn to ask my dad and Jason for help at first."

"You obviously did eventually," Willow said.

"Not really," Kellie said, "I was trying to get away from Port Charles without anyone finding out I was Sonny's daughter. Then Ethan kidnapped my brother, Morgan, and tried to use him to black mail me into going with him. I ended up in the harbor and Morgan was stabbed. He lost a lot of blood and the blood bank was low. I hoped that no one would catch on when I donated blood."

"I'm guessing that someone did though," Willow said.

"Jason had DNA tests run," Kellie said, "I was furious."

"It looks like everything worked out," Willow said, "It seems like and Sonny get along. You and Jason have a family together. "

"My dad and I get along a lot better than we used to," Kellie said, "But sometimes, it's like throwing gasoline on a fire. Michael can probably tell you stories about the arguments we'd get into."

"What about your mom?" Willow asked, "You mentioned hating Sonny for leaving you with her."

"I don't think I have any memories of her that don't involve her being high or turning tricks," Kellie said, "She overdosed when I was five."

"How did you come to terms with the fact that your mom didn't protect you," Willow asked, "I keep wondering why my own mother turned me over to Shiloh…I…."

"I learned to live with it," Kellie said, "I've never understood what she did or why she didn't just give me to Sonny. I'll never be able to ask. Someday she might give you an answer. I wish I had better advice for you. It screwed with my head for a long time. Just remember the problem is with her and not you."

"I will try to keep that in mind," Willow said.

"It's easier said than done. Believe me, I know," Kellie said.

"Does anything make it easier?" Willow asked.

"I take comfort in the fact that I know my kids won't ever experience what I did with her," Kellie replied, "There are a lot of things my kids have to deal with that I wish they didn't. I know I'm doing everything I can to make sure they know they're loved and feel safe."

"From the way that your sons talk about you in class," Willow said, "I think you have that covered. I have to say that your kids are really well adjusted considering everything they've been through"

"That is a relief to hear," Kellie said, "I'm surprised the boys haven't driven you up the wall with their antics."

"They definitely keep me on my toes," Willow said, "But I have to admit when they pull something, it's their way of standing for the underdog or one of the other kids. I see where they get that from. It's definitely their mom."

"You're probably giving me too much credit," Kellie said.

"It's partially thanks to you I feel like I have a chance against Shiloh," Willow said, "It's not just the lawyers, but the advice too. And seeing and hearing what you've been through as well that you got through it and have a family…I mean I have Chase. But I guess I never thought I'd find a good guy to even think about that with."

"Chase is one of the good ones," Kellie said, "Believe me when I tell you that you are so much closer to having that than I was after Ethan was gone. You want and believe you can have that. I wasn't even willing to try with anyone for a long time and I put Tyler through the wringer trying to figure out if I could even let myself be with him."

"Tyler being your first husband right?" Willow asked.

"Yeah," Kellie said, "To this day, I still don't know why he waited me out other than he was crazy and in love with me."

"It can't be that bad," Willow said.

"Faked my death when we were engaged, married him to get information from a priest," Kellie said, "left town and tried to divorce him, trashed a bathroom and had a mental breakdown when he tracked me down, almost died getting his Dad medicine before I finally stopping running from our relationship. And that's just the cliff notes version."

"I'll take your word for it," Willow said, "But somehow I'm guessing Tyler would tell you are worth all of that."

"He would," Kellie said, "Just like you're worth everything we're doing to help you."

Willow didn't respond right away.

"I really needed to hear that," Willow said, choking up, ""It honestly feels like Shiloh's winning right now, And….I'm being dragged back…and"

"And the further you get away from Shiloh and all that, the more you eventually start to believe you're worth all this," Kellie said, "Even when it's hard and you might feel like Shiloh won or wrecked you too bad, remember you're out and moving forward. Just keep moving forward, don't let the past stop you from having the life you want."

Outside the apartment, Chase came home to find Michael waiting outside.

"I thought Willow was home," Chase said, "Why are you out here?"

"Kellie is in there with Willow," Michael said, "I think some our discussion ended up veering towards Garrett's brother, Ethan, who…"

"Chased her for years," Chase said, "And that's putting it mildly."

Michael looked surprised.

"I read the file when we realized Garrett was in Port Charles," Chase said.

"Of course, you would have," Michael said.

"And I read it because I realized how much clout your sister has at the PCPD," Chase continued, "I couldn't figure out why veteran cops would just let her walk right by them and interrupt the commissioner. One cop even told me she was above our pay grade."

"Kellie is her own force of nature when the occasion calls for it," Michael said.

"Don't you know everything your sister would possibly discuss with Willow?" Chase asked.

"Probably," Michael said, "But I was a kid when all that stuff with Ethan went down. She feels like she still needs to protect me from all that."

"The big sister routine," Chase said. He knocked lightly on the door, "Can we come in?"

Kellie opened the door as Willow composed herself.

"What did you say to Willow?" Chase asked.

"Chase, she said some things I didn't realize I needed to hear," Willow said, "And some good advice that's kind of been where I've been."

"I really didn't mean to upset you, Willow," Kellie said.

"You've kind of been where I've been," Willow said, "I'm glad you reminded me it's okay to accept help and that I'm worth all of this whatever this is."

"I'm glad I could help," Kellie said, "Anyway, Jason's meeting me for dinner. I should be going."

"Of course," Willow said, "Will you be at the courthouse tomorrow?"

"I wasn't planning to," Kellie said, "With all the chaos at the foundation, I'm not sure if I'd help or hurt your case right now. It's one thing for me to refer you to some lawyers. But having Kellie Corinthos-Morgan show up at the hearing in family court.…"

"If it helps," Chase said, "The consensus around the station is that your executive director and the board member are the problem, not you. Even guys I know in the courts are scratching their heads at the the accusations they leveled against you. Even though you're not working at the foundation, you brought the fraud case to the authorities. A lot of people respect your work."

"I would think it would only help Willow's case if you were there," Michael said, "Founder of an organization that helps foster kids and victims of abuse and human trafficking."

"It mean a lot to me if you could come," Willow said, "But I also know you probably know what you're talking about."

"I will check with a couple of people I know," Kellie said, "See what their take is."

"Fair enough," Willow said.

**Washington, D.C.**

Gibbs went to update Leon on the McGee's progress on tracking the money.

"I respectfully disagree with this decision," Leon said heatedly into the phone, "Give our people and your people more time and what you're suggesting won't be necessary."

Leon did not look happy at the response and hung up.

"What won't be necessary?" Gibbs asked.

"There's no need for McGee to continue with tracking the money in Shiloh's accounts," Leon said, grimly, "The FBI just called me they plan to arrest Shiloh, along with several people at Kellie's foundation and Alicia Darrington in Sec Nav. The wire transfers and fraud at the foundation are just the tip of the ice berg. They're getting almost the entire group of people involved in Garrett and Shiloh's cult sex trafficking ring."

"Normally, I would say that's good news," Gibbs said, "But why do I get the feeling it's not…"

"You might want to sit down for this one," Leon said.

**The next day**

Not only did Kellie show up to support Willow at the hearing, but Sam, Kristina, Sage, and Lulu were there as well as Sasha, Chase, and Michael. Maxie hadn't been able to get off work to join them. Alexis and Diane were there too. Several Dawn of Day followers came to support Shiloh.

The judge took her seat and proceeded with the hearing.

"Mr. Archer," the judge said, "i'm looking over your petition and I'm trying to figure out what leads you to believe Ms. Tait had your child."

Shiloh in his haste to paint Willow as a liar keeping him from his child, slipped when the judged pressed him on what proof he had that Willow had a baby.

"By your own admission, you somehow managed to access private hospital records," the judge said, "Ms. Tait, does Mr. Archer have permission of any sort to your medical information."

"No, your honor," Willow answered.

"No hospital would provide you with that information," the judge said, "Frankly, you're wasting all of our time, Mr. Archer. There's no proof to your claims. Not to mention the number of open criminal investigations you are currently the subject of."

"Your honor," Shiloh replied, "If you'll give me a moment…"

"Petition denied," The judge interrupted, "hearing adjourned."

Shiloh frustrated stormed off.

"I'd say this calls for a celebration," Sasha said.

"That sounds like a great idea," Willow said.

"Agreed," Sage said.

"Consider the drinks and lunch on me," Sam said.

"I can't," Lulu said, "I'm on a deadline for this story."

"Count me in," Kellie said.

Outside the courthouse, they found Shiloh being arrested by the FBI.

As the Shiloh was read his rights and the charges, they quickly determined not only were fraudulent wire transfers involved, but that he had been connected to Garrett's operations.

Chase made some inquiries to find out more.

"They are arresting Calvin Darrington, Alicia Darrington, and Arthur, the board member from Crossing Into Dawn," Chase said, "They have them for the fraud at the foundation, but also using Dawn of Day for human trafficking. Apparently, some of the followers would be initiated into the trust and then could be purchased by donors for services for lack of a better word. Garrett apparently using the Dawn of Day house as a stop for the people he had kidnapped. Harmony recanted her confession of drugging Kristina's tea."

"Then it's over," Kellie said, relieved and stunned, "Because that just adds to charges against Garrett too.

"Looks like we both have something to celebrate," Willow said

"There's one other thing," Chase said, "A woman came forward about your father's death. Shiloh set it up or was involved somehow."

Willow almost collapsed. Sasha caught her.

"We can celebrate another day," Sam said.

"She's right," Sasha said.

"No," Willow said, "I'm not letting Shiloh take anything more away from me."


	73. Chapter 73

**The Floating Rib**

Kellie, Sam, Willow, Sasha, and Sage were in the Floating Rib when Gibbs walked in.

Kellie was standing at the juke box and didn't notice him until he barked her last name, "Corinthos."

Felicia looked at Kellie's guard to assess if Gibbs was friend or foe. Johnny gave signal that all was fine.

"Agent Gibbs, what are you doing here?" Kellie asked, "Did they send you here as part arresting Shiloh since he's tied to Garrett?"

"You could put it that way," Gibbs replied.

"That doesn't make sense," Kellie said, "Why would they send you here when the FBI took the lead on this? Not to mention NCIS could send agents in the area here instead?"

"Believe me, I would rather be anywhere but here," Gibbs said, pulling a chair out, "You might want to sit down."

"Gibbs, what's going on?" Kellie asked, "How bad can it really be?"

"Humor me," Gibbs said, gesturing to the chair.

"Seriously?" Kellie asked.

"I don't have all day, Corinthos," Gibbs said.

"Fine, you're exasperating, you know that?" Kellie said, sitting down. Gibbs sat on the other side of the table.

"How much do you know about Shiloh's arrest?" Gibbs asked.

"The general charges and the ties to Garrett were found out," Kellie said, "It solidified charges regarding fraud at the foundation. That a couple people from Dawn of Day turned on him. Harmony and another member."

"Harmony and the other member didn't have knowledge of the sex trafficking," Gibbs said, "or the services some donors were getting from members of the trust."

Kellie waited for Gibbs to continue.

"Garrett cut a deal," Gibbs said.

"What kind of deal?" Kellie asked, stunned.

"He turned on Shiloh, Calvin and Calvin's sister," Gibbs said, "There's no easy way to tell you this, Corinthos, but he'll be released in 5-10 years."

"What the freaking hell kind of deal is that?" Kellie replied, standing up, "He was never supposed to get out with the international ring he was running, kidnapping Alyssa twice, and me, and not to mention the officers he murdered once he no longer needed their services."

"It's a crap deal," Gibbs replied as Kellie steadied herself with the table, "McGee and the FBI were tracing a $30,000 wire transfer made from off-shore bank accounts to Shiloh's bank account. The account was tied to Garrett when someone called us and told us a deal had been worked out with Garrett to get everyone else. We begged them to let us finish our work instead of taking the deal."

"Garrett took everyone down to save himself," Kellie said, "And somebody let him. He knows somebody somewhere to get that kind of a deal."

By this time, everyone was paying attention to Kellie and Gibbs.

"The deal is still in the works," Gibbs said.

"But they have enough with the charges they're arresting everyone else for," Kellie said, "It's basically a done deal."

"Is everything okay over here?" Sam asked, joining them, Gibbs had stood up noting Kellie looked pretty shaky.

"Nope, it's not," Kellie said, "Garrett cut a deal. He could be out of prison in 5-10 years and…"

Before Kellie could continue she collapsed. Sam and Gibbs both caught her and lowering her to the ground.

**Sonny's Restaurant**

Jason met Sonny in the back office.

"Johnny Zacharra called me," Sonny said.

"From prison?" Jason asked, ignoring his phone buzzing for the moment.

"Yeah," Sonny said, "Did you see that Shiloh was arrested?"

"Along with some people at Crossing Into Dawn," Jason said, "Kellie texted me the news. She saw Shiloh get arrested at the courthouse."

"According to Johnny, the rumor on the prison block is Garrett cut himself some of kind of deal," Sonny said.

"We need to find out what kind of deal he cut himself," Jason said.

"Alcazar is already checking with some of his government contacts," Sonny said.

"I need to tell Kellie," Jason said.

"Before she finds out from the news or.." Sonny said, "Garrett's out on the streets terrorizing Kellie and the kids again. I can't watch her live constantly on edge like she did with Ethan for years."

"You know what we need to do," Jason said, interrupted by Max coming into the room.

"Max, we're in the middle of.." Sonny said.

"Kellie's on her way to the hospital," Max interrupted, "She collapsed at the Floating Rib. Johnny called and said Jason wasn't answering his phone."

"I've got to go," Jason said, heading out the door.

"I'll be right behind you," Sonny said, "Max, bring the car around."

**Alexis's House**

Alexis stopped by pick up some papers she'd left. She found Lorenzo looking like he was ready to throw the phone against the wall.

"This is just a thought," Alexis said, "You might regret throwing the phone if it breaks. No one would be able to contact you."

Lorenzo responded unintelligibly.

"Sam, Sage, or Kellie?" Alexis asked, "Which one is it?"

"Kellie," Lorenzo replied, "What made you think it has to do with one of them?"

"You only get this upset if one of them is in trouble," Alexis said, "I just left the courthouse and Shiloh was arrested…"

"Because Garrett cut a deal," Lorenzo said, "Sonny heard from Johnny Zacharra there were rumors of a deal in the works. I just got off the phone with one of my government contacts. The deal lets him out in 5 five years if he plays nice."

Alexis's jaw dropped, "Does Kellie know?"

"I don't know," Lorenzo said, "My contact said one of his agents came to let her know in person. He hasn't heard if he's made contact."

"Kellie was headed to the Floating Rib with Sam and Sage to celebrate Willow's custody hearing," Alexis said as Lorenzo's phone rang.

"Sam," Lorenzo answered.

"Kellie's on her way to GH," Sam said, "She collapsed. There's an Agent Gibbs here and…."

"I heard about Garrett's deal," Lorenzo said, "I'll head to the hospital."

"I'll see you there," Sam said.

When Lorenzo hung up the phone, "Kellie passed out or collapsed."

"I'll drive you to the hospital," Alexis said.

"You know you don't have to," Lorenzo said, "I can have my people drive me."

"I want to," Alexis said, "Just don't read to much into it. You were there for me with Kristina…"

"You're just returning the favor," Lorenzo said before they headed to the hospital, "Got it."

On the way to the hospital, he called Sonny to let him know about Garrett's deal.

**General Hospital**

Epiphany directed Jason to Kellie's room. Jason didn't even notice Gibbs or anyone else in the waiting room.

Sonny, however, did notice Gibbs.

"It would have been nice to get a heads up that you and your people handed Garrett an early release," Sonny said, "Instead of hearing it from the rumor mill before you sprung the news on my pregnant daughter."

"First off, Corinthos, my people did not give Garrett an early release," Gibbs said, "Whoever granted him that deal did so against my agency's advice. So if you want to be mad at some one, be mad at the scum bag who let that happen."

"Well maybe if you'd done your job and gotten evidence on Shiloh and his associates," Sonny replied, "They wouldn't have needed Garrett's testimony."

"We were tracking the best lead we had, money transfers between Shiloh and an off-shore account connected to Garrett" Gibbs said, "We were doing our job, Corinthos."

"I'm supposed to believe that because," Sonny said, noticing Alexis came in behind Lorenzo, but headed over to Sam.

"Because it's the truth," Lorenzo said, walking over to them. He was still using a cane, "Thought it would have been nice to get heads up so we could have…."

"What, tried to soften the blow that news would have on Kellie," Gibbs said, "We all know that wouldn't have happened. She would have been more upset if you all knew about it before she did. She be reaming all of us out and you know it."

"I really don't want to admit your right about that," Sonny said.

"You know what," Lorenzo said, "What's done is done. Let's focus on what we need to do moving forward.

**Kellie's hospital room**

When Kellie came to, she had been admitted to GH. Jason was by her bedside waiting for her to wake up.

It took Kellie a moment to get her bearings.

"Jason, what happened?" Kellie asked, somewhat out of it. One hand cradled her belly, "Is our baby?"

"Our little girl is just fine," Jason said, "The doctor says your blood pressure spiked. That's why you collapsed. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was at the Floating Rib," Kellie said, "We were celebrating Willow winning her case against Shiloh and Shiloh getting arrested. I think Agent Gibbs was there, but that doesn't make sense."

"Gibbs is here in Port Charles," Jason said.

"Then does that mean Garrett's getting out of prison in just a few years," Kellie said, "I think that's what Gibbs told me."

"He did," Jason said.

"Jason, I don't know if I can handle the thought of Garrett getting out," Kellie said, "It was supposed to be life in prison when the trial came down."

"I know," Jason said.

"I don't know what to do," Kellie said, "I've always had a plan or an idea when things didn't go as planned…. But the idea of him being out and able to pick up where he left off…"

"Let's look at positive side if you can call that," Jason said, "he's in for a minimum of five years. You don't have to an answer right now. As much as I know this is going to annoy you to hear, stressing out over Garrett's early release isn't good for you or the baby."

Kellie shot Jason the annoyed look he expected.

"Let me worry about Garrett for both of us," Jason said.

"We both know that's easier said than done," Kellie said.

They were interrupted by Epiphany coming in to check on Kellie. Epiphany asked Kellie a series of questions and checked her vitals.

"Epiphany, do you know if I'll be able to go home today?" Kellie asked.

"I'm not sure," Epiphany said, "I'll have to check with the doctor. But your blood pressure is still on the high side."

Kellie groaned, "For the record, I'm so over being pregnant right now and I still have the third trimester to go. Yes, I know I'm whining right now."

"Noted," Epiphany said, "Dare I ask what mess sent your blood pressure soaring?"

"Who says there has to be a mess involved for?" Kellie started to reply.

"You're stressing out over something," Epiphany said, "I wasn't born yesterday. Come to think of it, I probably don't want to know. But whatever it is, you Mrs. Morgan, can let your husband and Sonny or whoever else stress out over it for you…"

Kellie started to respond.

"Now I get," Epiphany continued, "you'd rather handle your own business. But right now your first priority is you and that little girl you're carrying. Everything else comes second. Do I make myself clear?"

Kellie mumbled.

"What was that?" Epiphany asked.

"Yes," Kellie said louder.

"I'll go see let the doctor know your awake and to come see you," Epiphany said.

Epiphany left Jason and Kellie to themselves.

"I know you're both right, Jason," Kellie said, "I'm just so damn frustrated and angry…"

The next thing Kellie knew Jason was sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Can you let this thing with Garrett be my concern for right now?" Jason said, "I promise, he's not getting anywhere you or the kids."

"I'll try," Kellie said.

Eventually, Kellie shifted leaving more room for Jason next to here.

"If I have to be here awhile," Kellie said, "You might even get comfortable."

"Until Epiphany yells at me," Jason said.

"And yet…" Kellie said, "That didn't stop me when you got shot last year."

"Because I dared you," Jason said.

"Fine, I dare you," Kellie replied.

Jason started to move.

"Don't even think about it, Morgan," Epiphany said from the hallway.


	74. Chapter 74

Jason froze.

"I double dare you," Kellie said

"How many times do I have to tell you two…" Epiphany started to say.

"He gets to stay if my blood pressure goes down," Kellie said, causing Epiphany to pause.

"Alright, you have a point," Epiphany said, "But if any one asks, I know nothing about it."

"We will leave your reputation for….," Kellie started to say.

"I'd advise against finishing that sentence," Epiphany said.

"generosity intact," Kellie replied.

Epiphany gave Kellie a look as Monica walked in.

"Thank you," Kellie added. Epiphany just shook her head.

"While your blood pressure has come down," Monica said, "It's still higher than we'd like to see right now. We'd like to keep you overnight for observation. Hopefully it will drop. Even when you get to go home, you'll need to take it easy and avoid unnecessary stress."

Kellie didn't look happy.

"I know that's not what you want to hear," Monica said.

"I know, Monica, I get it," Kellie said, "It's the way it is."

"Could you give us moment?" Jason said

"Yeah, sure," Monica said.

"I guess we're definitely camping out here for the night," Kellie said after Monica and Epiphany left.

"I'll see if Charles or Olivia can watch the kids," Jason said.

"Parenting isn't the thing that causes me stress," Kellie said, "Just….."

"Now that Calvin and Arthur have been arrested," Jason said, "Maybe the foundation will go back to normal and you don't have to worry about the investigation. "

"Maybe," Kellie said, "I just assumed I'd help fix things once they were out even if I didn't go back to work there…but I don't even work there actually."

"But Lorenzo does," Jason said, "He's just been on leave. He might be ready to take that on. Him and Charles if the board hires Charles back as legal counsel. Is Lorenzo staying with Alexis?"

"I think so," Kellie said, "I could have throttled him for doing that experimental treatment to speed up his recovery. But he's getting around with a cane now. I would think he'd have left Alexis's by now. But then again maybe they're getting back together. I really have no idea."

They were interrupted by Willow knocking at the door, "I hate to interrupt but I'm supposed to meet Chase and I wanted to stop by before I left. Monica said you were awake."

Jason waved Willow in.

"I'm going to go talk to Sonny," Jason said, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Dad's here," Kellie replied, "I'm surprised he's not already in here."

"He might have had words for Agent Gibbs," Jason said,

"Gibbs is still here?" Kellie said, "Never mind that.… I haven't had lunch yet today, your daughter and I are starving. Could you bring us a chocolate shake and French fries from the cafeteria."

"I'm not bringing you that junk food," Jason said, "But I'll bring you back a salad or soup or something."

Kellie rolled her eyes at Jason, "Forget I asked for now. We'll continue this discussion after I talk to Willow."

Jason left the room and Willow asked, "How are you doing? Actually, that's a really dumb question. Why don't I start with are you and the baby okay?"

"More or less," Kellie said, "My blood pressure is still on the high side. I won't be going home until tomorrow."

"I'm sorry that…," Willow said.

"Hold on, you have nothing to be sorry for" Kellie interrupted.

"While I'm happy Shiloh is going to prison," Willow said, "I don't want it at the cost of Garrett getting out and harassing you and your family."

"Totally not your fault," Kellie said, "Knowing Garrett if Shiloh wasn't an option to turn on, he would have turned on somebody else. Plus based on the deal he got and what went down, I'm pretty sure he leaned on somebody somewhere."

Kellie looked annoyed at that last part.

"That's infuriating," Willow said, "Can Agent Gibbs do anything about it?"

"He wouldn't be here if he could," Kellie said, "If only…."

"If only what?" Willow asked.

"Just wishful thinking," Kellie said.

"I'm pretty sure when any idea in regards to Garrett must be worth considering," Willow said, "Michael told me you're a genius at helping cops get the bad guys. I'm sure you'll come up with something eventually."

"Problem is it feels like I've tried everything," Kellie said, "All I want is to protect my kids and I…"

"And what?" Willow asked.

"I don't know," Kellie said, "But you have a date to get to. So go, have fun, and celebrate. Don't worry about all this."

"Are you sure?" Willow asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kellie said, "Now don't keep Chase waiting."

In the hospital waiting room, Gibbs had disappeared. Jason found Lorenzo and Sonny off in a corner.

"How's Kellie?" Lorenzo asked.

"She's awake," Jason said, "Doctor's said her blood pressure is still high, but it's better. They want to keep her overnight for observation. Once she goes home, she'll have to take it easy."

"I'm sure that would be a lot easier if your government cronies hadn't played nice with Esoterra," Sonny said.

"They aren't any happier about it than we are," Lorenzo said, "They had leads when they were shut down with Esoterra's confession. I'd love to know who arranged that little deal."

"Do you think we could lean on Agent Gibbs?" Sonny asked, "See if we can find out who authorized Garrett's deal."

"I wouldn't advise it," Lorenzo said, shaking his head, "You'll just agitate Gibbs unnecessarily. It's safe to assume that Garrett getting that type of deal doesn't sit right with Gibbs. If anyone can dig the truth out at NCIS, it's him and you pushing him to do it won't provide any incentive for him share information."

"Do you have any better ideas?" Sonny asked.

Lorenzo leaned in close to Sonny and Jason.

"Do whatever you have to do to make sure Kellie can sleep at night and not walk around worried about Garrett showing up," Lorenzo growled under his breath.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Jason asked.

"Yes," Lorenzo said, "And we'll leave it at that."

Sonny nodded.

"I'm going to go see Kellie before I go," Lorenzo said, seeing Willow leave.

"How's the treatment?" Sonny asked.

"Better than expected," Lorenzo said, "But my energy isn't what it was yet."

"Do you need a ride?" Jason asked.

Lorenzo shook his head, "Alexis drove me and I have a guard."

"Alexis drove you?" Sonny inquired as Lorenzo walked off and ignored him.

"Lorenzo's right," Jason said to Sonny, "We need to…"

Jason stopped talked realizing Gibbs was approaching, holding a lunch bag from the cafeteria.

"Don't let me interrupt," Gibbs said, "Continue…"

"I was just saying we need to see about hiring extra guards," Jason finished.

"Thought you would have already been working on that?" Gibbs replied.

"We were and then Francis was shot," Jason said, "We still need to hire a few more. If Garrett's get out of prison."

"If Garrett gets out…?" Gibbs replied.

"I'm sure if you keep digging," Sonny said, "You'll find evidence to keep him from ever getting out of prison."

"I'll keep digging, Corinthos," Gibbs said, "We can both agree he shouldn't be getting out of prison every. What I don't agree with is the idea that you and your business partner might interfere in the investigation or with Garrett Esoterra somehow."

"I think you're imagination must be running away with you, Special Agent Gibbs," Sonny said, "We're just coffee importers. How could we possibly interfere?"

"You tell me," Gibbs replied as he and Sonny stared each other down.

"I have plane to catch," Gibbs finally said.

"I'm going to head to the cafeteria and grab Kellie something to eat," Jason said, "Gibbs if you hear any thing has changed regarding Garrett's prison sentence.."

"I'll let Kellie know," Gibbs said, "I'd say keep your wife out of trouble, but knowing her that's a challenge."

"I wouldn't have her any other way," Jason said as Sonny tried not to crack smile.

"I'm curious," Sonny said, "Kellie tends to have a knack for getting along with law enforcement. You don't quite fit that pattern. It makes me wonder what Kellie did to irritate to you?"

"Doesn't take orders well and runs head first into danger," Gibbs said, "Which I can imagine has probably given you more than a few headaches over the years."

"She did something specifically," Sonny said.

"That's classified," Gibbs said, walking away, "Now if you'll excuse me."


	75. Chapter 75

**Author's Note: At least one reviewer has expressed interest in knowing what Kellie did to Gibbs for him to be constantly irritated at her. In all honesty, I've never really determined what that is. I just kind of figured that Gibbs and Kellie would likely butt heads even if they are working on a case together. **** As far as addressing it in this story, I likely won't because it feels like there's this unspoken agreement between Gibbs and Kellie (and anyone else that might know) to never actually discuss it. ****I've considered the possibility of writing a fanfic that focuses on the first time Kellie and Gibbs worked a case together addressing that and the kidnapping of Tony and Ziva's daughter alluded to in earlier stories. We'll see what happens once I finish this story. Hope you all are well and staying safe. **

"I guess news travels fast," Kellie said when Lorenzo entered her hospital room, "And please don't ask me how I feel."

"Wasn't going to," Lorenzo said, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"I take it you heard about Garrett's deal," Kellie asked.

"I talked to Director Vance," Lorenzo said, "When Sonny called me asking about rumors he heard about Garrett bragging about getting this freedom from Johnny Zacharra."

"I'm assuming he doesn't know much more than Gibbs," Kellie said.

"It doesn't sound like it," Lorenzo said.

"What happens next?" Kellie asked.

"Until NCIS has cause to believe Garrett committed a new crime or one they don't know about," Lorenzo said, "Nothing."

"It's not fair, Uncle Lo," Kellie said, "We've done everything by the book and in five years, he'll walk out of prison. It's bad enough I spent years being stalked by his brother. But just knowing that I have worry about him a few years from now."

"We're not giving up," Lorenzo said, "We have time to figure something out."

"In my meantime, my kids when they find out about Garrett eventually," Kellie said, "do what? Be afraid and always looking over their shoulder for Garrett. That's one of my worst fears for them right. Especially, Alyssa. He's kidnapped her twice, Uncle Lo… I"

"He's not getting to her again," Lorenzo said, "We'll make sure of it."

"You should listen to your uncle," Gibbs said, from the door "We're not giving up on making sure where Garrett stays where he belongs."

"Are you even allowed to investigate him?" Kellie asked.

"NCIS cannot investigate him in regards to the current cases," Gibbs replied, entering the room, "But I'm sure there's some more skeletons in his closet somewhere."

"Unless you find his get out of jail free card," Kellie said, "How much good will that do?"

"We'll find that too," Gibbs said, handing her the cafeteria bag, "I brought something to cheer you up."

"Fries and a milkshake," Kellie said as she opened the bag, "Thank you, Gibbs."

"I figured it was the least I could do," Gibbs said, "Considering…"

"You drew the short straw to come break the news to me," Kellie quipped, pulling the fries and milkshake out of the bag.

"Who said anything about drawing straws," Gibbs said, "Leon and I figured we owed you this news in person."

"I appreciate the effort," Kellie said, "I know NCIS didn't have to send anybody at all. And I'm sure you weren't banking on a trip to the hospital."

"With you," Gibbs said, "That's a given."

"Seriously, Gibbs," Kellie replied, rolling her eyes.

"Not my fault if you have a reputation," Gibbs said, "Is there anything else I can do before my flight leaves?"

"Probably not," Kellie said, "Just promise me this. If you have a chance to get at Garrett, I want in."

"You know I can't do that," Gibbs said.

"I had to try," Kellie said.

"I know," Gibbs said, "Just try to focus on the good stuff and your family right now. He's not getting out anytime soon. And stay out of trouble for the next three months."

"I can try," Kellie said, "but trouble always seems to find me whether I want it to or not."

Gibbs left and Lorenzo and Kellie talked for a few more minutes before he left.

Lorenzo found Gibbs waiting for him in the parking garage.

"I thought you were on your way to the airport," Lorenzo said.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you in private," Gibbs said, "I overheard part of your conversation with Kellie, specifically about feeling like she's done everything legal when it comes to Garrett. I'm starting to get the feeling that it won't take much for Kellie to cross a line she shouldn't cross."

"I was hoping that was just me," Lorenzo said.

"When Morgan and I found Kellie down in Florida," Gibbs said, "We ran into Garrett. Let's just say she held the gun on him longer than she needed to before putting it down."

"Shit," Lorenzo said, "I'm hoping that she can let it go until after the baby's born. Then she'll feel more like her self, less vulnerable."

"And if Garrett gets the upper hand again," Gibbs said, "Is she going to be able to let it go? Let's we face it, we both know Kellie doesn't have to do a damn thing when it comes to Garrett to keep him from getting near her. Hearing that Garrett died a prison brawl or an accident won't shock anybody, not that I'm advocating for that."

"Of course not, Special Agent Gibbs," Lorenzo said.

"What I'm saying is I don't want to have to put anyone in prison for killing Garrett," Gibbs said, "So you better keep your hands clean, especially Kellie's."

Sam visited Kellie.

"I was going to ask if I could bring you a milkshake and fries," Sam said, "But it looks like somebody beat me to it."

"I think Agent Gibbs does it just to annoy Jason," Kellie said.

"I'm pretty sure he was going to get you a salad," Sam said.

"I'm not surprised," Kellie said, "He actually did get my a burger and fries and flowers when we had a night in."

"Impressive," Sam said.

"Carly helped him with the flowers," Kellie said, "He wanted to do something special for me."

"Was that the night he gave you the amethyst necklace and asked to make your marriage official official?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Kellie said.

Sam's phone dinged.

"Just a minute," Sam said, looking at the phone, "It's Danny letting me know he's home from school."

"How's he doing?" Kellie asked, "I know he's been doing things with Jason more and I think he asked about coming over this weekend."

"I think we finally got through to him," Sam said, "And apparently he's heard you're in the hospital and asked me to remind you to take your medication."

"You can tell him I haven't forgotten since the day he saw that I forgot to take it," Kellie said.

"He'll be glad to hear that even if does pretend he's not really concerned," Sam said, "So you have to stay overnight."

"Yeah," Kellie said, "Unless you want to help sneak me out of here."

"And risk Epiphany's ire," Sam replied, "I don't think even you can talk your way out of that one."

"Probably not," Kellie said, "I've done it before but I wasn't pregnant and waddling. Although I was on crutches once."

"How many times have you snuck out of the hospital?" Sam asked.

"At least three, actually four, make that five" Kellie said, "If you count when I proposed to Tyler and that's just since I first came to Port Charles."

"I didn't realize it added up to that much. In all seriousness, how are you?" Sam asked, "Is there anything I can bring you besides a way out of the hospital?"

"Not really," Kellie said, "I think Jason arranged for Charles to get the kids from school or they're staying at Sage & Milo's. I don't even know where my kids going tonight Sam."

"Those kids are being taken care of. The only kid you need to focus on right now is the one that arrives in what September," Sam said, "Do everything the doctors say, get your blood pressure down so you can home, and we will all come over for girls night. Lulu, Maxie, Sage we'll all come over and have drinks."

"You are all having mock-tails with me," Kellie said.

"Fair enough," Sam said.

"That sounds like plan," Kellie said, half-heartedly.

"It is a good plan," Sam said, "It's going be okay. What is it you always say, guys like Garrett always have a some dirty secret in the background that will get them caught sooner or later."

"I'm having a hard time believing that right now, Sam," Kellie said.

"Then I'll believe that enough for the both of us," Sam said.

Sam and Kellie chatted awhile longer until Sonny came by.

"Is everyone here?" Kellie asked.

"I was with Jason when Max told us you were on your way here," Sonny said.

Sam checked the time, "I have to get Scout. I'll call you tomorrow."

Sam and Kellie hugged before Sam left.

"I'm sure you're sick of hearing this," Sonny said, "But how are you?"

"Frustrated, angry, irritated," Kellie said, "The list goes on. I could really use a punching bag or some barware to throw."

"I know you're angry and you have every right to be," Sonny said, "But you have to let this thing with Garrett go for now. With any luck by the time you and Jason hold your little girl for the first time, there won't be any reason for you to worry about Garrett ever again."

"Dad, I keep thinking what else I could have done to make sure Garrett stayed in prison for good," Kellie said.

"You can't think like that. You have done everything and then some to bring Garrett to justice," Sonny said."The fact that he found some sleaze ball to get him a deal that's on him and anyone who gave him that deal. If there's anything I want to you listen to me about, it's this. Don't give Garrett another thought ever. I promise you he's not going to get near you and the kids again."

"I want to believe that," Kellie said, softly.

"I know I don't have the best track record there," Sonny said, "But if you don't believe me then believe Jason when he tells you that okay."

Kellie nodded, still unconvinced.

Jason came back in the hospital room with a salad and saw the half drank milkshake, partially eaten carton of fries.

"Did you order room service?" Jason asked.

"Nope," Kellie said, "An angel of mercy stopped by while you were gone. If it makes you feel better, they left the salt off."

Kellie took one of her fries and dipped it in her milk shake.

"Who let you have french fries?" Epiphany asked, coming in the room, "They're not on the menu that the doctor prescribed…."

"I'll let the three of you sort this out," Sonny said, leaving, "Kellie, remember what I said. Jason, I'll call you tomorrow."

Epiphany grabbed the carton and remaining French fries. Kellie grabbed the rest of her milk shake.

"Your milkshake is safe. But I'm of half a mind to tell your husband to go home when visiting hours are over," Epiphany said, "Morgan, what were you thinking?"

Jason showed Epiphany the salad he brought, "Someone else brought her the fries."

"They just brought them without asking," Kellie replied.

"You can stay, Morgan," Epiphany said, "If only to keep your wife's antics to a dull roar."

"Is there a fridge we could put the salad in until dinner time," Jason asked, "Please."

Epiphany took the salad, "My shift's almost over. But any of the nurses should be able to get it for you."

"Thanks, Epiphany," Jason said.

"You're welcome," Epiphany said.

Once Epiphany had left, Jason laid back on the bed next to Kellie. Kellie curled up against him, her head against his shoulder.

Neither one said anything for awhile.

"Jason," Kellie finally said, her voice cracking.

Kellie paused before continuing, "I'm not okay with Garrett getting out of prison and I don't know what to do about that."

Jason just held Kellie as neither one felt the need to say anything further at that moment.


	76. Chapter 76

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait between chapters. Work's been busy and I was trying to figure what came next after Garrett getting a reduced sentence in the last chapters. My writer's block brought about an unexpected opportunity to focus on the ****Alexis/Lorenzo romance and it went places I hadn't expected it to go yet. I couldn't be more excited considering I had different plans for them when I started writing "Crossing Into Dawn" and then ended up with them never really getting a shot. For those just need something to read that's lighter and more positive, this chapter does that overall. I hope you all are doing well and are safe. Have a great weekend!**

Lorenzo was leaning against the car as he waited for Alexis.

"You could have told me you were ready to go," Alexis said approaching the car.

"I didn't want to interrupt you and Sam," Lorenzo said.

Alexis rolled her eyes and unlocked the car. Lorenzo didn't move, lost in thought.

"Earth to Lorenzo," Alexis said, "The car's unlocked."

"Sorry," Lorenzo said, moving to open the car door.

On the drive back to Alexis's, Lorenzo stared out the window silent. Back at the house, Lorenzo went to disappear in his room without a word, visibly tired and weary.

"Lorenzo Tomas Alcazar," Alexis said, "Sit down before you collapse. You know you're still not supposed to over do it."

"Alexis," Lorenzo replied.

"No arguments out of you, mister," Alexis said, herding Lorenzo to the couch, "i don't know why you insist on pretending you're better than you really are. You did say that while you'd get your strength back, it would take its time coming back."

"I don't want the girls to worry," Lorenzo said, collapsing on the couch. Alexis sat next to him.

"We'll all worry if you don't take it easy like you're supposed and end up worse off than you were before," Alexis said.

"Does that we include you?" Lorenzo asked.

"For our daughter's sake only," Alexis said.

Lorenzo didn't respond.

"What no glib remark or smirk trying tease a different answer out of me?" Alexis said.

"Is there another answer you haven't mentioned, counselor?" Lorenzo replied.

"No," Alexis said and paused, "How are you really? Don't tell me nothing. I know something's bothering you."

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with," Lorenzo said.

"Considering the fact that you're too exhausted to move," Alexis said, "I can badger you until you decide to answer my question. There isn't anything you can do to get away from it."

Lorenzo didn't respond as Alexis continued to try to get Lorenzo to talk.

"i forgot how good you are at not answering questions when you don't want to," Alexis finally said.

Lorenzo smirked.

"You're not the only one that's worried about the girls, all of them," Alexis said, "It seems like we get one squared away and we're immediately worrying about one of the others."

"It sure seems that way," Lorenzo said, "It doesn't help that the cult leader and Esoterra are connected."

"With any luck, maybe some one will give up information on other crimes Garrett's committed that haven't been investigated yet," Alexis said.

"We both know it's not likely," Lorenzo said, rubbing his forehead.

"Just tell me what's bothering you," Alexis said.

"Hypothetically, it would fall under attorney-client privilege," Lorenzo said.

"Hypothetically, consider me your attorney," Alexis said, "Although should I be worried someone's going to commit a crime or has committed a crime."

"I really hope not," Lorenzo said.

"Sonny and Jason wouldn't surprise me," Alexis said, "Although, if you were still in the business…."

"We wouldn't even be having this discussion," Lorenzo said, "Or you'd be representing me as a suspect at the police station. Though I don't think I've ever wished that I still had those resources more than I have right now."

"So you feel guilty that you can't just solve the Garrett problem. That's what bothering you," Alexis said.

"I said no such thing," Lorenzo said.

"You didn't have to," Alexis said.

"Look…I just worry Kellie will end up drawn back more into Sonny and Jason's world than we bargained for," Lorenzo said.

"She's married to Jason," Alexis said, "and pregnant with his baby. She's pretty well there with the security she needs for her and the kids."

"That's not what worries me," Lorenzo said, "She needs that type of security even when she wasn't married to Jason at least for the kids. And it's not like I don't know she's more than capable of handling the business. She worked with me and Jason But it's been a long time since I've seen…."

"Seen what?" Alexis asked when Lorenzo paused.

"The looks she gets in her eyes when reminds me entirely too much of Sonny or myself," Lorenzo said.

"I know Kellie was involved in the business," Alexis said, "But I always thought she had enough sense not to do things the way you guys do."

"Normally," Lorenzo said, "But she's also always been able to handle things and stay clean. It's just this thing with Garrett, something feels different."

"She's a smart girl," Alexis said, "As much she might want to… she knows better. I think Kellie's not the only one spooked by Garrett's act."

"I hope you're right," Lorenzo said, his heading dropping on Alexis's shoulder.

Alexis grabbed the pillow next to her and hit Lorenzo with it. Lorenzo moved his head off her shoulder.

"What was that for?" Lorenzo said.

"Trying to use me as your own personal pillow," Alexis said.

"Your shoulder looked comfortable," Lorenzo said.

"That's right my shoulder," Alexis said.

"What annoys you more that I used your shoulder as a pillow," Lorenzo replied, "Or that you actually enjoyed it."

"You are insufferable," Alexis said, "This is exactly why I didn't want you recovering at my place. You'd turn on the charm and I'd feel myself starting to melt and think.."

"Think what?" Lorenzo asked, "or are you still too scared to admit it?"

"There's nothing to admit," Alexis said, daring Lorenzo to challenge her bluff.

Lorenzo held Alexis's gaze, "In that case, I'm headed to my room."

Lorenzo stood up, leaving Alexis speechless.

Back in his room, Lorenzo was sitting on the bed when Alexis flung the door open.

"Damn you for making me fall in love with you again," Alexis said, throwing herself at Lorenzo and kissing him, "And you didn't without turning on any of the charm or trying to seduce me this whole time until now."

"I love you too, Alexis," Lorenzo said, kissing her back.

"You know what I hate more," Alexis said.

"I'm sure you'll tell me," Lorenzo said.

"That I hate the thought of you leaving once you get your strength back," Alexis said.

"Who says I have to leave?" Lorenzo replied.

Alexis paused, "I….I don't know. We're not a thing and I didn't want us to be a thing. So I just assumed that you would be leaving eventually…. I…."

"What do you want, Alexis?" Lorenzo asked.

"To stop fighting this thing between us and give it a real shot," Alexis said, "I mean, we never really had a first or second shot."

"It's yours if you want it, a real shot," Lorenzo said, "It's all I've ever wanted with you since I found out you were the girl that got away as a teenager."

"So do you want to not move out?" Alexis asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Lorenzo said before they resumed kissing.

"Yes or no," Alexis said.

"Yes, counselor," Lorenzo replied.


	77. Chapter 77

**Author's Note:**_ While Garrett does have a few more tricks up his sleeve in this chapter and he seems to continue getting the upper hand, I can assure you that's coming to end in the next few chapters. From there we are ending with all happy things, Baby shower, the new baby, and a couple of other surprises. Hope you are all doing well. _

**The Following Week**

**A Navy Shipyard**

"What do we got?" Gibbs asked approaching Dr. Mallard and Dr. Palmer. Ducky and Jimmy were analyzing three bodies, two male, one female.

"All three had their torsos slashed and had bullets to the head," Jimmy said.

"And they were positioned in exactly the same manner…"Ducky began to say.

"As the petty officers Garrett Esoterra killed," Gibbs replied, "He doesn't even try to hide it. Are they who I think they are?"

"Calvin & Alicia Darrington," Jimmy replied, "And Shank…I mean David Henry Archer also know as Shiloh."

"He left his usual calling card," Ducky said, nodding towards the postcard with a sunrise.

"The cards make a lot more sense now that we know about Dawn of Day," Jimmy said.

"Garrett never leaves his colleagues or what ever you want to call him alive," Gibbs said, "Now we have to figure out how Garrett pulled this off. We should of known the prison transport went missing…"

"Assuming they'd try an escape was reasonable," McGee said, "Shiloh in particular."

"McGee, see if you can track down the drivers," Gibbs said, walking away.

Away from the crowds he made a phone call.

**Port Charles**

Lorenzo and Alexis were sharing a late breakfast when his phone went off.

"Are you going to answer that?" Alexis said.

"They can leave a message," Lorenzo replied, "I'm not expecting any phone calls. And we did clear our schedules for today."

The phone kept ringing.

"Whose LJG?" Alexis asked, looking at his phone.

"A phone call I have to take," Lorenzo groaned, grabbing the phone, "Special Agent Gibbs."

"Took you long enough to answer," Gibbs said.

"Well I've been busy," Lorenzo said, "What bad news do you have to share now?."

"Shiloh's dead along with Calvin and Alicia Darrington," Gibbs said, "Prison transport went missing earlier today. Same M.O. as the petty officers Garrett killed."

"Any chance that Garrett left evidence tying himself to these as he did before," Lorenzo asked.

"We have to finish processing the scene," Gibbs said, "But considering he's in prison and he left finger prints and DNA at the previous scenes, our job is harder. I'm sure his attorneys would claim copy cat."

"So you have to figure out how he ordered the hit from prison," Lorenzo said, "Thank you for the information. Keep me posted if anything changes."

"I will," Gibbs said, "I would call Kellie myself but after how last time went, I figured I should give someone a heads up. How is she?"

"Home under orders to take it easy," Lorenzo said, "Her blood pressure's been staying down."

"Tell her to keep it that way," Gibbs said, "I have to go."

"What happened?" Alexis asked when Lorenzo hung up the phone.

"Garrett killed Shiloh and the Darringtons," Lorenzo said, "I know we said today was about us."

"I need to tell Kristina," Alexis said, "And you need to tell Kellie. I'll make sure Brad and Lucas and Willow are informed."

**Elementary School - Principals Office**

"Mrs. Morgan, we're sorry to have to call you down here," Principal Schulz said, "But something happened you need to know about."

"What is it?" Kellie asked.

"Alyssa's teacher caught her with a note in class," Principal Schulz said, "A note Alyssa said she found in her cubby. No one seems to know how it got there. Thankfully, it seems the teacher got the note before Alyssa could read it.

"What kind of note are we talking about?" Kellie asked.

"The note appears to be from Garrett Esoterra," Principal Schulz replied, "It was along the lines of how he looked forward to seeing her again when he gets out of prison. We've contacted the authorities."

"And where's Alyssa now?" Kellie asked.

"In class," Principal Schulz said, "Other than being upset when we took her letter, there didn't seem to be any reason to keep her out of class. Do you want to us to get her?"

"No," Kellie said, "If she's doing fine in class, I don't want to upset her unnecessarily."

Kellie and the principal discussed a few more details before she left.

"Lorenzo's been trying to get ahold of you," Johnny said, out in the car "Told me to have you call him right away."

"I'm almost scared to call when you put it that way," Kellie said.

Kellie called Lorenzo back.

"Are you sitting you down?" Lorenzo asked.

"In the car," Kellie replied, "Why?"

"I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy still," Lorenzo said.

"When Garrett arranges to leave a letter in Alyssa's cubby," Kellie said, "There's no way I'm not going to the school to meet with the principal."

"Garrett did what?" Lorenzo said.

"Wrote Alyssa a letter," Kellie said, "The teachers got the note before Alyssa read it."

"Thank heavens for small favors," Lorenzo said, "Though that probably won't make telling you this any easier."

"What happened now?" Kellie asked.

"Agent Gibbs called me," Lorenzo said, "The prison transport with Shiloh and the Darringtons went missing yesterday. Their bodies were found in a navy shipyard. According to Gibbs the crime scene is set up similar to how the petty officers that worked for Garrett were found."

"So he arranged the hit from prison," Kellie said.

"Looks like it," Lorenzo said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just to think," Kellie said, "I'll call you later."

The next thing Lorenzo heard was the sound of Kellie ending the call.

**Sonny's Restaurant Office. **

Sonny was sitting at his desk when Jason walked in, shutting the door behind him.

"How's Kellie and the baby?" Sonny asked as Jason took a seat.

"Everything seems okay," Jason said, "She's following the doctor's orders and trying to avoid stress. She's kind of going stir crazy at times."

"That doesn't surprise me," Sonny said, "How's she taking the idea of Garrett being released from prison in a few years."

"I don't think she knows what to do," Jason said, "And she doesn't really want to talk about it. It's like she's trying to work something out about this, but hasn't."

"Any nightmares?" Sonny asked.

"Sometimes," Jason said, "But she still isn't sleeping well and tosses and turns. Sonny, we have to do something about Garrett. I know said it should be Kellie's choice, but I can't stand back and let him hurt her or the kids anymore than he already has."

"I know," Sonny said, "I hate seeing that look in her eyes. Like she's just waiting for him to show up. The same look she had when she first came to Port Charles and his brother was chasing her."

Sonny and Jason were interrupted by Max opening the door and letting Lorenzo in.

"We're not open if you're looking for lunch or something," Sonny said.

"Not why I'm here," Lorenzo said, "Have you heard about Shiloh yet?"

"No, what about him?" Jason asked.

"Dead, along with the Darringtons," Lorenzo said, "NCIS thinks Garrett was behind it."

"Great, then he can stay in jail," Sonny said.

"They have to prove he was behind it first," Lorenzo said.

"Does Kellie know?" Jason asked.

"I already called her," Lorenzo said, "There's something else. Apparently the school called her for a meeting. Garrett managed to slip Alyssa a letter."

"The bastard," Sonny replied as Jason stood up.

"I'm going to go find Kellie," Jason said, "Sonny, we'll continue our conversation later."

"Yeah, go," Sonny said, "We'll continue our discussion later."

Jason left leaving Sonny and Lorenzo.

"How'd Kellie take it?" Sonny asked.

"I'm not sure," Lorenzo said, "She told me she needed to think and hung up."

"Jason said she's not sleeping, having nightmares again," Sonny said, "She hasn't said much since we found out about Garrett's deal. He's not sure what she's thinking."

"Shit," Lorenzo said.

"Do you know something I don't know?" Sonny replied.

"I'm worried that the part of Kellie's that more like us than we'd ever care to admit it is…" Lorenzo started to say.

"She wouldn't take matters into her own hands that way," Sonny interrupted.

"Are you sure?" Lorenzo asked, "We're talking about her children's lives. We both know she's also the type to make the questionable choice and accept the consequences if she thinks she's doing it for the right reasons."

"She won't have to," Sonny replied.

"I hope not," Lorenzo said.

"I'm pretty sure Jason wanted to revisit our stance on Garrett," Sonny said, "Before you interrupted."

"And that stance was?" Lorenzo asked.

"It was her choice," Sonny said, "But that was before we thought he had any chance at getting out of prison."

"My two cents for what it's worth," Lorenzo said, "She doesn't have to know. She'd suspect, but I highly doubt she'd ask questions. She'd be relieved."

"If you hadn't have tried to turn government informant years ago," Sonny said, "You could have handled it already."

"And that would be my cue to leave," Lorenzo said, heading out the door.

"We still need to discuss your intentions with Alexis," Sonny replied, " If you're going to be in the mother of child's life again..."

"None of your business, Corinthos," Lorenzo smirked, interrupting Sonny, and letting the door shut behind him.


	78. Chapter 78

Jason found Kellie at home going at the punching bag. He noticed she was holding back from pounding on the bag like she normally would. He waited to let her know he was there when she stopped.

"Hey," Jason said.

Kellie turned around startled,

"I didn't mean to startle you," Jason said, slowly approaching her.

"It's not your fault," Kellie said, "Garrett's been;…"

"He's been busy, I know," Jason said, "Lorenzo stopped by the restaurant and told us about Shiloh and the Darringtons."

"I was going to call you," Kellie said, "I just needed to get my head together. If that's even possible right now."

"Is Alyssa okay?" Jason asked, "Lorenzo said the school intercepted a letter."

"Yeah, she was still in class when I met with the school," Kellie said, "Since she was doing school like normal, I figured it was better to let her stay. And I left Charles messages about making sure restraining orders were put in place and could cover written contact or any form of contact. Though I'm sure Garrett won't pay any attention to them."

Kellie took a hard swing at the punching bag. Jason stood behind the bag and held it steady.

"Have at it," Jason said, "Just let it out."

"Except that I'm…" Kellie started to stay.

"Our daughter will be just fine," Jason said, "She needs you to get this out of your system. You're not going to hurt her. All you're doing is using your fists. I'll tell you if you need to stop."

Kellie thought about it before letting her fists fly against the bag. Eventually, she paused. Jason waited. Kellie pummeled the bag again. Then she stopped again.

"Are you done or do you want to keep going?" Jason asked.

"I need him gone," Kellie replied, "Garrett, I mean…"

"I figured that's what you meant," Jason said, walking over to Kellie. He started taking her gloves off, "When you say gone, I'm assuming you mean…"

"Gone as in he has an accident in prison along those lines," Kellie replied, "I can't keep living like this, Jason, wondering what Garrett's going to next. I can't handle the idea of any of my kids living with the threat of Garrett."

"They won't have to," Jason said, handing Kellie a water bottle.

"I know I kept saying that wasn't any option I'd consider," Kellie said, "but I don't know what else to do. He's finding ways to screw with us from prison."

"You don't have to explain it," Jason said said, "The only thing you'd need to do is trust Sonny and I to handle it. You don't have give Garrett another thought ever."

Kellie hesitated before replying.

"Okay," Kellie said.

"You're sure you're okay with this," Jason asked.

"I'm sure," Kellie nodded, "I don't want my kids growing up feeling like they have to watch their backs all the time like that. Not like I did with Ethan for so long.."

"To be honest you never had to ask," Jason said, "The truth is if we thought it was the best option…"

"You wouldn't exactly ask permission," Kellie said, "I knew that on some level. I guess I needed to say it, to own it. For myself."

"As far anyone else is concerned," Jason said.

"We never had this conversation," Kellie said, "Even hypothetically."

"Anything else that happens from here is on me," Jason said, "Not you."

Kellie nodded.

Jason pulled Kellie close to him, "I promise it'll be okay."

They were interrupted by Johnny, "Charles stopped by. Do you want me to show him in here or…."

"I'm finished in here," Kellie said, "I'll see him inside."

Johnny left.

"Do you want me to stay?" Jason asked.

Kellie shook her head, "You go do what you need do. I'm pretty sure you left your meeting with my Dad today. You should probably finish that."

"It could wait," Jason said.

"Is Jake still coming over after school?" Kellie asked.

"That's right," Jason said, "He wanted to help with the baby's room and I think he has a painting for it."

"Exactly," Kellie said, "So you and Dad talk about whatever it is you need to talk about. I will do all the legal things I always do when it comes to Garrett."

"I'd almost think you're eager to get rid of me," Jason said.

"Not really, but first things first,," Kellie said, kissing Jason "I'm sure I can make it worth your while later."

Jason left and Kellie met Charles in the kitchen.

"So it's been quite the day," Charles said, "At least based on the messages you and Lorenzo left me."

"You did not have to come over to…" Kellie said.

"Why don't we skip the part where you tell me not to do what we both know I'll do anyway," Charles said, "I needed to see for myself you okay after ended up in the hospital last week when we found out about Garrett's previous round of tricks."

"A few rounds with a punching bag seemed to do the trick," Kellie said.

"Really," Charles replied, "But seriously how are you?"

"I'll be fine," Kellie said, "I'm doing everything the doctor's told me."

"Which is driving you crazy"," Charles said.

"No surprise there," Kellie said, "So restraining order…"

"I've already filed the paperwork," Charles said, "We shouldn't have an issue getting written communication included in the restraining order as well."

"Good," Kellie said, "If he violates it, it should make it harder for him to get out of prison."

"You don't sound convinced of that," Charles.

"You can't tell me you do either," Kellie said.

Charles shook his head, "No. So first the restraining order and then what."

"We wait," Kellie said, "for him to screw up, hopefully. In the meantime, anything new on the fraud investigation and the foundation."

"It's a lot of damage control from what I hear," Charles said, "The board is in a frenzy. They aren't quite sure what to do right now. Which reminds me do you still want to set up a more formal arrangement to provide funding."

"Yes," Kellie said, "I don't plan on taking an active role even if the board asked me back. I'll fund it and review the financial records as planned. I have more important things to focus on right now."

"I will make sure the paper works in order," Charles said, "And let you know what the board figures out in terms of new management at the foundation."

"You don't have to keep me informed about…" Kellie said.

"Doesn't change the fact you still want to know?" Charles said, "The foundation was your brainchild. Just because you're making a different choice doesn't mean you don't get to care."

"I just wish all of this were easier," Kellie said.

"That is the funny thing about life sometimes, it's messy and complicated more often than we'd like," Charles said, "It's not always easy to figure out. But I think you've been doing better at it then you feel like you are."

"I'd agree with that," Lorenzo said, entering the kitchen, "Johnny let me in."

"How many people are going to be tracking me down today?" Kellie asked, "Not that it's not good to see you."

"The circumstances could be better," Lorenzo said.

"Well, hopefully those circumstances will be a distant memory sooner rather than later," Charles said, "Now that I've seen for myself, Kellie's fine, I should be going."

"You don't have to leave on my account," Lorenzo said.

"I'm meeting Monica on her break," Charles said, standing up. "I'd be leaving soon anyway."

Charles walked over to Kellie and gave her hug, "If you need anything, you call."

"I know," Kellie said, "And Charles….thank you for everything you've done for me over the years. I wanted to say, because I probably don't really say it."

"No thanks needed," Charles said, "Just enjoy your life with all its messy complications."

When Charles left, Lorenzo and Kellie stared at each other.

"So Uncle Lo," Kellie asked, "I've been wondering are you and Alexis back together?"


	79. Chapter 79

"Nice try," Lorenzo said, "But you don't get to avoid talking about Garrett by hanging up on me or asking questions about my love life."

"So you admit, you do have a love life with Alexis," Kellie replied.

"None of your business for now," Lorenzo said, "Somedays I'd swear you're related to Sonny…oh wait."

"Wait..my dad is grilling you about Alexis," Kellie asked, "Why? Kristina's an adult. They were over ages ago. Besides my interest is because I actually want you two to work out."

"And are trying to avoid discussing Garrett," Lorenzo said, "You hung up as soon as I told you about Shiloh and didn't call anybody."

"There was a punching bag with my name on it," Kellie said.

"You just got out of the hospital, Kellie," Lorenzo said.

"I held back even when Jason told me to punch the bag harder," Kellie said.

"Okay, I just worry about you," Lorenzo said, "You haven't had an easy pregnancy. Speaking of Jason, I'm surprised he's not here."

"He went back to work," Kellie said, "Then he's picking all the kids up from school. Jake's coming over. "

"No, no, no," Lorenzo said, "Please don't tell me that…"

"I wouldn't ask questions you may not want the answer to," Kellie interrupted.

Kellie looked away from Lorenzo as he buried his face in his hands.

"And that tells me exactly what I didn't want to know," Lorenzo said, "Please tell me you're letting Jason and Sonny handle it."

"Handle what?" Kellie replied.

"Right," Lorenzo said.

"Hypothetically if I had asked Jason and my dad to take care of a matter for me," Kellie said, "You realize I would never have that conversation with you. You've been legit for a long time. I wouldn't want to screw that up for you."

"I hate this got so far that you'd even consider…" Lorenzo replied.

"Do you blame me?" Kellie asked, softly.

"No, your family's safety is at stake," Lorenzo said, "If I still had my own connections, Garrett would have been gone a long time ago."

"Uncle Lo," Kellie said.

"But that wasn't within my power to make happen," Lorenzo said, "I never thought I'd admit to being grateful that Sonny and Jason can."

"Not that you'd ever actually tell them that," Kellie said.

"Look, whatever happens," Lorenzo said, "Just promise me you'll listen to whatever advice Jason, Sonny, and Diane if it comes to that give you. That particular side of the business was something you've tried to avoid."

"Which is why I would never actually be involved in something like that," Kellie said, "Not to mention Sonny and Jason wouldn't involve me if they were to actually do something about Garrett if I had asked."

"Just promise me, okay," Lorenzo said, "For my own peace of mind."

"I promise," Kellie said, "But you don't have anything to worry about. Now, you and Alexis spill."

"We're together together," Lorenzo said, "And I'm not moving out."

"So you're giving it a real shot?" Kellie asked.

"Yes," Lorenzo said.

"I called it. Sage and Lulu owe Sam and I a day at the spa," Kellie said.

"You all bet on this?" Lorenzo said.

"That's just a side benefit, Uncle Lo," Kellie said, "The important thing is that you and Alexis are happy."

"We're happy," Lorenzo said, "I am and I think she is."

"She would have thrown you out by now if she wasn't," Kellie said.

"Very true," Lorenzo said, "Are you satisfied that…"

"You won't waste away alone pining for Alexis," Kellie said, "Yes. God forbid if it doesn't work out this time at least you'll know you had a shot this time."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Lorenzo said, "But whatever happens next, you, your cousins, and friends are no longer allowed to take bets on our relationship."

"What's the fun in that, Uncle Lo?" Kellie replied.

**Sonny's Restaurant **

"I figured you'd be with Kellie the rest of the day," Sonny said as Jason walked in, "Is she okay? Did she say why she didn't call one of us""

"She said she needed to think," Jason said, "I found her at the punching bag. Before you worry about that, she wasn't going full blast. The only person she called was Charles and that was to discuss a restraining order."

"Garrett's not going to pay attention to any restraining order," Sonny said.

"I know," Jason said, "And Kellie knows that too."

"When say Kellie knows that too, what exactly does that mean?" Sonny asked.

"It means she's fine with however you and I choose to handle Garrett," Jason said, "if it means he's no longer a threat."

"She asked you take care of him," Sonny said, "Actually don't answer that."

"I wasn't going to," Jason said.

"I assume you're on board with this," Sonny said.

"I was going to suggest that we make sure he's no longer a problem," Jason said, "Before Alcazar interrupted."

"I should have done something sooner," Sonny said, "So Kellie wouldn't have felt like she'd have to ask."

"No one knew Garrett had a get out of jail sooner card somewhere," Jason said, "Spinelli's still working on that by the way."

"Do you have any idea how much I hate that the business has touched Kellie as much as it has?" Sonny said, "I know a lot of that is my fault when Luis Alcazar infiltrated the organization and she stepped in because I was too stubborn to see it. But she got out and even when she was in, she did it in ways that kept the cops from looking to closely at her. But this Jason."

"Sonny, look at it this way," Jason said, "She not's going after Garrett herself. She's leaving it to us."

"She'll be okay with this?" Sonny asked, "Be able to live with herself."

"To keep her kids safe," Jason said, "Every time."

"Because family first," Sonny said, "Alright, do you have any thoughts about how we want to do this?"

**Kellie and Jason's House**

Kellie was in the nursery room, opening up boxes of furniture to assemble, when Jake came running in. Jake carried a painting size package.

"Wait for me," Alyssa yelled from the hallway, "I want to see."

Jamie rolled his eyes as he and Jamie followed Alyssa in.

"It's just a painting for the new baby," Jared said.

"That Mommy will decorate the room based on," Alyssa replied, "Boys, no fashion sense at all."

Jason walked in with Danny, "I thought we'd agreed that the boys and I would put the crib and dresser together."

"I just thought I'd open the boxes," Kellie said.

"Except you brought the tool box up," Danny said, looking in the corner.

"I got excited when the boxes showed up," Kellie said, "I thought you had practice, Danny."

"It got canceled," Danny said, "Jake begged me to come…so…."

"Are you done talking so we can see the painting?" Alyssa asked.

Jake had propped the painting on the window seat.

"I think you should do us the honors, Jake," Kellie said, "It is your masterpiece."

Jake removed the covering to reveal a collage of purple, teal, blue, and pink butterflies amidst green foliage.

"That is amazing," Kellie said.

"You think our new sister will like it," Jake asked.

"She'll love it," Kellie said, "It's perfect."

"Especially because you painted it," Jason said.

"You could put it near her crib where she could see it," Danny said.

"That's a great idea," Kellie said.

"I'm getting a computer tablet," Alyssa said, running out of the room, "So I can pick out more butterfly stuff for the room. Danny, you can help me. Jake, can you paint me a kitten collage for my room?.

Jamie was grabbing the tool box as Jared and Jake went to work opening the furniture boxes.

"Do I have to help Alyssa pick out frilly stuff?" Danny asked.

"No," Kellie asked, "In fact, I'll make sure she doesn't go overboard."

Jason followed Kellie out into the hall and kissed her.

"Thanks for making Jake and Danny feel included," Jason said.

"I'm glad they wanted to come over and be included or pretend they don't when they really do," Kellie said.

"Oh…satin curtains," they heard Alyssa yell from downstairs.

"Satin curtains…really?" Jason asked.

"Not on my watch," Kellie said, kissing Jason before going to find Alyssa.


End file.
